Equinox
by awsomerebel55
Summary: A dark tale set. The forces of good and evil shall clash once more and a wicked puppet master laughs at the chaos. This is not the story of butterflies, but of a young man with an unwanted destiny. Mike Mignola and Guillermo Del Toro style Star vs FOE. Dark fairy tale. Harem.
1. Chapter 1

_Once upon a time... in a land where magic and myth lived together side by side._

_The gods and forces of creation forged the land so that it would have equal parts good and bad._

The mystical land was vast. Mountains so tall that they reached the clouds. The tips were covered in milky white colored snow. Fields so green that they looked like emeralds had sprung from the ground and turned to grass. Forests so full of life that creatures of all shapes and sizes lived in them with mists that could mystify all that came across them. Skies were blue with clouds and great birds of different shapes and sizes. And rivers that coursed through the land giving it more and more life. The magic that flowed through this land was one of wonder and danger. Should someone know how to use it they could do many good things but if abused or taken for granted the consequences would be great. This land with a name long forgotten was indeed peaceful with all its inhabitants living in side by side without any ill will towards one another.

There were two different groups that lived together in this land; The Fablefolk and the Children of Man.

The Fablefolk were the children of the great father tree, Yggdrasil. A massive Redwood tree with magical roots that dug deep into the earth. Its long branches filled and covered with golden leaves that casted great shadows on the land during the day. And during the cold night they shun with a warm light that attracted people to sleep underneath it.

Legends told that all manner of magical creatures were born from the fruits that fell from the ancestral tree. They were the Fablefolk. The Fablefolk were a very diverse group. They ranged from elves with fair bodies and charming wit to mighty troll warriors with stone-like skin, mermaids that sought knowledge and wielders of magic with a strong connection to the ancestral powers. They were often accompanied by tales. Such as those that eat off the tree's fruit will attain immortal life or be cured of any sort of sickness. Others say that inside the tree there are tomes of ancient knowledge left by scholars of magic.

The other group, the Children of Man were simple human beings. They did not posses inherited might like the Fablefolk -be they big or small. They had little understanding of the magical natures of the world. But despite their small and frail disposition they were all resourceful and clever. They were able to learn about the world and become enlightened by the knowledge. Together the Children of Man could build great cities of stone, make their way through adversity and bend steel to their will. They were an embodiment struggle against the unforgiven world and the elements that made it. Many claimed that this was because of the emptiness inside of their hearts which they tried to fill with desires. But others claimed that this thirst and desire was what drove them to accomplish many things.

All of these beings be it stony trolls, wise knowledge seeking mermaids, powerful wizards, mischievous fairies and gnomes, or children of man lived in harmony in the land. Yes there was peace in the land under the watchful and fair rule of Oberon. The first born of Yggdrasil and a human woman. He was tall man with light blue skin, spiky ears, short white hair tied in a small ponytail, had clear green eyes and wore a silver armor with green emerald lines and symbols on it. He held a black curved broadsword with two blue spirals connecting at the guard with a handle wrapped in brown leather and a blue orb as a pommel. He raised his legendary sword, Caliburn, high in the air getting all the people that followed him to cheer for his actions.

_Oberon ruled for many years leading the Fablefolk and the Children of Man to a prosperous time._

_But no mighty king rules forever._

On the day of Oberon's death, he casted a spell on his faithful sword before throwing it far into the sky. The sword sailed through the clouds before plunging deep into a lake far from his final resting place.

_"When my land and people need me the most, my sword shall find a new champion. And if he be worthy shall wield the power of Caliburn."_

Years passed since that day, and the peace that Oberon had fought so hard for... came to an end by the words of one being.

* * *

Armies of the Children of Man charged against the armies of the Fablefolk. They all were armed with armor, swords, spears and shields and ran directly at their enemies with no desire to stop. At the head of the charging army were the Warriors of the Sun. An order of knights with silver knightly armors with yellow suns on their shirts underneath a red templar cross on top of their chainmail armors. They wielded crusader swords with cross guards that connected the handle with the blade.

The Fablefolk rose up to meet them with all their magical tools at their disposal. Legions of trolls, goblins, elves and wielders of magic rode together.

At the front of the Fablefolk army were The Lord of the Hunt, River and the two Fable queens, Moon and Eclipsa. River was a short man with a long blond beard, fair skin, and clear blue eyes. He wore a dark blue armor with a stag shaped helmet with long horns and a white cape and held a steel battle ax. Moon was a fair woman with long light blue hair, blue eyes and diamond shaped cheek marks. She wore a lean silver armor with a long armored skirt and the symbol of a butterfly on her chest plate and two short swords on her hands. Eclipsa was an equally fair woman with short dark green hair, purple eyes, pale skin and light amethyst colored spade cheek marks. She wore a lean purple armor with sharp nails, a short battle armored skirt and wielded a black staff with a purple parasol.

The battle began. With a mighty battle cry.

A massive troll swung a large club sending many humans flying into the air.

A human spearwoman stabbed a goblin through its chest, spilling its blood.

An archer elf fired an arrow only to be blocked by the shield of a human warrior.

A Warrior of the Sun clashed his sword against one of Moon's blades before she retaliated, causing sparks to illuminate their faces. The knight continue on the defensive as Moon spun around in her place, slicing at him. The warrior ducked under one of the swings and sliced upwards only scratching her chest plate. She growled back before her eyes glowed bright blue. She swung her blade and a blue wave of magic sent the warrior back, knocking off his helmet. He got up with blood dripping down from his forehead.

River swung his battle ax while riding his steed, sending many poor humans running. His swings were swift and vicious, coating the blade with blood. But suddenly a Warrior of the Sun jumped at the Lord of the Hunt knocking him off his horse. They began to wrestle until the knight picked up River and flung him away. River then jumped back with his ax high over his head ready to strike.

Eclipsa slammed the bottom of her staff on the ground opening her parasol. She gripped it with both hands before jumping high into the air. Once she was high enough she aimed down her staff and fired a purple swarm of butterflies made out of dark energy.

Another Warrior of the Sun rushed at the middle of the battlefield. He held his sword by his side and then swung it downwards. Fear and rage coated his eyes, but knew that he had to fight on for what he believed. Even if it wasn't heroic or glorious, he would fight.

The battle raged on fiercely for years with neither side giving an edge.

However, just when everything seemed like it would end in a sea of blood. A turn of events changed everything.

After many years of battle and bloodshed, the leaders of the Fablefolk and the Warriors of the Sun signed a pact. A treaty of peace. The truce that began that day stated that the Fablefolk were to remain in the forests and the Children of Man would remain in their cities. Neither would seek conflict against the other. The pact was to be honored by the descendants of both sides until the end of time.

This and more was all written within the pages of the Ancient Book of Spells. The manuscript was written by the Mad Monk Glossaryck in his great wisdom. And all would follow the histories and learn from them. For in the book's pages the future would be determined.

* * *

It was a star filled night without a single cloud in the sky. The mists were low, making the ground appear as if one were walking on a cloud. And there was a soft cold wind blowing through the forest rustling the leaves. The trees covered very little of the sky but the slightly twisted branches clung to it like hands gripping the stars.

A lone figure walked through the forest wearing an orange cloak and hood. The figure of the cloaked being was one of a womanly hourglass. Two pale white arms came out of the cloak and gripped the hood. The pointy clawed fingers pulled back the hood and revealed a long mane of red hair that reached to her legs and two curved horns that resembled lightning bolts. And in the middle of them was a flame. Her face was beautiful with a red bang covering her right eye and two small fangs coming down from her upper jaw. Her eyes resembled flames. They were orange like lit embers and the corneas were the cloak was a yellow dress that had orange highlights around her chest and down on her skirt, and had elbow length sleeves.

"Why do I bother? I was already at the birth of Eclipsa's daughter," Hekapoo sighed. "Moon's brat is probably already out and whining like a cat mewling for milk. She doesn't even want me there, it is all just a formality."

Hekapoo placed her hands on her wide alluring hips before looking down. She took in a deep breath of the night air before closing her eyes and raising her head.

"But I'm nothing like him, even if it's just a formality I have to appear," Hekapoo said taking in the cold air as it met her warm skin. "Even if Moon has one shoved way up there."

She wondered what she could do to make this night a little less depressing.

"AURGH!"

A pained scream caught Hekapoo's attention. She turned her head before pulling her hood back on her head. She moved towards the source of the scream, using a tree as cover. Hekapoo then saw the source of the pained scream.

Right across from where Hekapoo hid herself, she saw a man and a woman leaning against a tree. She had fair skin and long brown hair wearing a green dress and a brown cloak. She was holding the hand of the man with black hair, a short beard wearing a black shirt, brown pants, leather shoes, and a brown cloak.

Hekapoo kept her eyes on the couple as she realized that the woman was easily nine months pregnant.

"Please my love, hold on just a little more, the city isn't very far," the man said holding his wife's hand.

"I'm sorry Jason, but the baby isn't going to wait any longer," the woman wailed as she began to give birth. "Arg!"

Hekapoo's eyes went wide as she saw the woman settle on the ground. She faced away thinking that she should leave them to their own problems. But a nudging feeling told her that she couldn't leave them like that. Hekapoo always had a soft spot for the Children of Man, especially babies. She moved out of her hiding spot and approached the couple.

"Please Anna, hold on," Jason said, wipping the sweat off of her forehead before noticing Hekapoo approaching. "Stay back, do not come near us," he said pulling out an old woodchopping ax to protect his wife and child.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," Hekapoo said trying to calm the situation.

"Then take off that hood," Jason demanded. "Show me your face."

Hekapoo pulled back the cloak but this time she looked less peculiar than before. Her pale white skin turned tanned brown and her eyes became orange with whites. Her fangs, claws, horns and the flame that was between them were no more.

"My name is Hekapoo, may I ask how you are?" Hekapoo asked the couple.

Jason looked to his wife, now feeling much more at ease.

"My name is Jason Lakestone, and this is my wife, Anna," Jason introduced himself putting the ax away. "I am deeply sorry for my behavior, but my wife has just now gone into labor and we are still far from the city. And I would appreciate your help. Is there a settlement nearby, a doctor or a midwife?"

"Sorry, sir. The only place near here is about three miles and it appears your wife cannot wait a moment longer," Hekapoo pointed out as Anna grunted by the contractions. "Your child is coming. But I have some experience as a midwife. I can help if you want."

Jason returned to his wife's side, gripping her hand.

"Honey, it'll be alright. I'm here for you," Jason said to her trying to sooth her. "I promise you that everything will be alright."

Hekapoo got closer to the pregnant woman and kneeled down in front of her legs. She stared directly into the woman's light green eyes trying to give her some respite.

"Tell me, Anna, how often do these pains come?" Hekapoo asked Anna as she gripped her husband's hand.

"F-Four minutes between each," Anna answered gritting her teeth.

"That doesn't give us a lot of time here," Hekapoo said. "Would you like me to help you deliver your baby?"

"Yes! Please I'm begging you!" Anna said as the pain coursed through her body.

Hekapoo nodded to the woman in labor before lifting her skirt. She then placed her hands in front of the crowning baby's head. She hadn't lied, she had helped Eclipsa's mother give birth to her. It had been very messy.

"Alright, I can see that the baby's head is almost crowning," Hekapoo said. "I need you to take short breaths and then when I tell you, push. Alright? Nod if you understand."

Anna nodded in understanding. Through the pain and the contractions she listened to the words that Hekapoo had spoken.

Jason stroke Anna's head trying to calm her the best that he could.

"If you feel the need, you can tightly hold my hand," Jason said holding Anna's hand tightly. "I'm the reason you're in this position to begin with."

"And I hate you and love you for that," Anna grunted. "Thank you for reminding me."

"Alright, here we go," Hekapoo said. "Start breathing. Like this."

Hekapoo breathed in through her nose before quickly exhaling it through the mouth. She repeated the breathing technique getting Anna to do it with her. They continued doing this until Hekapoo looked down to see the baby's head now crowning.

"You're doing great," Hekapoo said looking at the black patch of hair making it's way. "Now, push!"

Anna pushed with everything that she had. She screamed in pain as she pushed the baby out of her body. While at the same time she crushed her husband's hand. She screamed in pain to the point that tears came out of her eyes.

"Push," Hekapoo repeated.

Jason gritted his teeth as Anna crushed his hand. After years of working with his hands as a blacksmith Jason was more than used to dealing hard materials. But nothing could've prepared him to the iron grip that his wife was giving his hand. He could feel his bones being pushed to the point of breaking.

But just as quickly as the painful process began, it ended.

"Wah! Wah! Wah!" a cry cut through the night air.

The exhausted couple looked up as Hekapoo wrapped their new born child in a red cloth that she had. She looked down at the screaming baby as the couple grew tiered smiles on their faces.

"It's a boy," Hekapoo said as she handed the baby over to the couple.

"He's beautiful," Anna said as she held him close to her with her arms.

The child's wailing didn't seem to lessen, showing his strong lungs.

"He's just like my father, with quite a set of lungs on him," Jason said as he looked upon his firstborn son.

Hekapoo's eyes were fixed on the boy which began to glow unbeknownst to the couple. Her curiosity of who the child was had gotten the better of her, but her eyes went wide. Before her eyes she saw the future of the child and gasped.

This got the attention of the young couple.

"Is something wrong?" Jason asked.

"No, everything's alright. I just get happy when I see a young couple with their kid," Hekapoo quickly said to avoid suspicion. "I suggest that you give him a strong name for the rest of his life."

Hekapoo got back to her feet and pulled over her cloak. She looked over her shoulder as the baby began to calm down.

"Until we meet again, little king," Hekapoo muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

18 years later...

The city of Echo Creek was a large city, filled with buildings made of sticks and stones with stone walls that were meant to protect it from the outside. The towers of the castle in the middle of the city stood out the most, the home of the Warriors of the Sun. This was the great symbol of this city.

But the story does not start here.

In the outskirts of the city of Echo Creek stood the Lakestone Blacksmith forge. The building was only a two story structure where the majority of the first floor was used as the forge with a big weathered furnace standing right in the middle. At the entrance was the shop's sign and on both sides of the shop's walls were different choices of weapons and armor. Long swords, short swords, shields, spears, chest plates, and helmets hung off of the walls. On the back of the shop and the second floor lived the owners and workers of this fine forge; the Lakestone family.

As the sun began to crawl high into the morning sky, on the second floor of the room a young man with messy short hair, and lightly tanned skin stirred in his bed. He moaned and turned under the brown sheets, his eyes shut as if he tried to avoid the sun. The young man let out a sigh, knowing that he had indeed woken up. This young man was once upon a time a little baby, but he was all grown up.

"Damn," the young man grunted.

A knock on the door of the small room fully cemented the young man's awakening.

"Adam, wake up son," Jason called from the other side of the door. "Wouldn't want to miss you birthday, would you?"

Adam blinked a couple of times before his eyes fell upon a calendar next to a poster of the Warriors of the Sun. He got on his feet now filled with energy, and not wanting to waste another minute of the day. He quickly grabbed his red long sleeved shirt, his dark blue pants, brown shoes and his brown vest.

"Today's the day," Adam said. "I'm ready."

Adam Lakestone dressed himself as fast as he could before walking down the old worn out stairs to the kitchen. He then spotted his mom preparing some eggs on toasted bread, his father setting the table and his younger brother sitting down. Jason and Anna had aged rather well with only a few grey streaks and a couple of wrinkles in their bodies. The younger boy, Duncan, had dark brown hair, a couple of freckles in his cheeks, an old blue shirt, brown pants, and black shoes.

The crispy smell of the eggs was a great motivator for Adam. It was his favorite breakfast.

"Good morning, mom," Adam said before giving his mom a kiss on the cheek.

"Morning honey, I hope you slept well," Anna replied with a sweet motherly smile. "Breakfast will be ready in just a minute."

Adam walked towards the table and sat down next to his dad with a smile on his face. He grabbed hold of his fork and using the reflection to fix his hair.

"Hoping to see a girl later, son?" Jason asked with a smile on his face. "I remember back when you were no bigger than a loaf of bread. And now you are out to find a nice girl."

"Ew," Duncan said. "Can it please not be Higgins. She's a stick in the mud."

"Don't worry Alex, I'm not going out for that," Adam said as Anna placed the food on the table. "I'm going to apply for the Warriors of the Sun today."

A silence befell the table as Jason turned to his son. The father had a dark depressed look on his face, not because of his son's decision, but because of what the inevitable outcome would be.

"But Adam, the scouting process of the Warriors is a very strenuous one and they often go for royal or noble blood," Jason said with a sombre look. "And there's only hard work on ours. Besides, I need you to help me with the orders in the forge. Duncan is still too young for that. One more year and I'm sure I'll be able to hire some help."

"That's what you said last year when Marco was taken as a squire, and he's a knight now," Adam replied slightly annoyed. "I want to see what's out there and have adventures."

"I'm sorry son, but fate can be a cruel mistress," Jason sadly said as Adam looked down to his breakfast depressed. "We can't change these things."

* * *

Far from Echo Creek, and deep in the Fablefolk forest a white and blue castle stood surrounded the trees and thick fog. It had three tall towers with tear drop shaped tops with magical runes inscribed on them. Flags stood at the very top of the towers and on either side of the drawbridge. The flags had a large butterfly shield on them.

Inside the middle tall ivory colored tower another _interesting_ person was starting their day. A young girl coming of age as well. She had long blond hair, fair skin and heart shaped cheek marks. Her eyes opened and she smiled.

"It's my BIRTHDAY!" she screamed with her overly happy voice. "I. STAR BUTTERFLY! AM A GROWN WOMAN!"

Star Butterfly, the princess of the Fablefolk and daughter of Moon the Queen of the Day, jumped out of bed. She put on her green dress that reached up to her knees, stripped socks, fur boots, and her royal tiara that had horns on it. She bubbly jumped up and down before she turned to face her large mirror.

"Looking good, awesome princess," Star told herself.

Star's palms shun brightly before a blast of golden magic fired out. She flew out of her room and down the spiraling stairs. She did this every morning and did so to cause chaos, which gave her some form of entertainment.

Star knew that she had power, so she should use it.

She blasted through the castle until she found herself in front of the throne room. She jumped and skipped across the room until she was right in front of her mother and father, Queen Moon and King River. Moon now wore a blue dress that resembled a flower upside-down with wind shaped shoulders and a golden crown on top of her hair tied in a blue bun. On the other hand, River wore a kingly blue uniform with shoulder pads, a blue cape and a golden crown.

"Morning, your Majesties," Star said half heartedly. "So what's the plan for my party?"

"Star, how many times have we told you not to burst and fly through the castle like that?" Moon inquired causing Star to whistle innocently. "A princess must keep grace at all times. Now as a woman you must be ready to uphold your destiny as a queen."

"Yeah, when can we get to the fun stuff?" Star asked. "I wanna fight some bad humans."

"Star, a queen should never seek out conflict! Regardless of how much we may be prepared for it," Moon shot back before turning back to her throne. "Now, go to your studies and reflect on those thoughts of yours."

Star grunted narrowing her eyes. She turned back and made her way to begin her studies. She reached the door before giving her mother one last dirty look before reaching to the doors with magic. She then closed them behind her, leaving the throne room.

Once the king and queen were alone once again, River turned to his wife.

"Honey, I think you were too hard on Star," River said. "You can't just order her around like she's some hunting hound."

"River, we need to stifle these ridiculous notions out of her head while she's still a princess," Moon replied with a bored tone. "She cannot do whatever she likes when it strikes her fancy. When she's queen then she'll have to make tough decisions for the kingdom and her lack of control is only going to get in the way. Worse case she'll end up like her aunt Eclipsa. And I'll be damned if that happens. That's why she needs discipline."

Unbeknownst to Moon Butterfly, Star stood outside the throne room. She had heard every word that her mother said. She grunted and cursed under her breath before running angrily back to her room. She stomped every step of the way back to her room. Her mind was filled with angry thoughts. She mumbled cursed to herself just loud enough for her to hear but not loud enough for everyone else.

"How dares she, I am the princess?! I'm her daughter, I can't wait till I get the damn throne," Star muttered.

Star reached her room after a minute of walking up the stairs and slammed the door behind her. She stood before the mirror and waved her hand leaving a trail of gold colored magic. The reflection of the mirror changed and turned making an image appear before her.

"Time for me to stir a little trouble," Star said with a grin before she began chanting her spell. "_Let the window to the world appear before me, show in the mirror an escape to it. Open with my command. I command magic."_

The mirror began to glow and a blue swirl appeared on it.

A smile appeared on Star's face. She wasn't going to wait for her mom to make her a dull china doll. She'll get her adventure. Star jumped in without a second thought.

* * *

Back in Echo Creek, Adam and Duncan were walking through the market with a shopping list. Adam carried the shopping list and Duncan carried a bag that they used to carry groceries in. Adam half heartedly looked at the list as they entered the market.

The market was as crowded as usual with stands of food and products set up on either side of the old market center. The shacks were made with wood and showed all sorts of goodies. Ranging from vegetables to meats, loafs of bread to trinkets that were supposedly magical. The old ragged spots had seen better days but everyone in the city could get the food that they needed to live through their day, and now Adam and Duncan had to do some shopping.

"Alright, if we get the vegetables first we can then save the sweets for last. Sound good, Adam?" Duncan asked.

Adam didn't respond.

"Adam, you there?" Duncan asked snapping his brother out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah sure that's a good idea," Adam answered.

"Still thinking about what dad said, huh?" Duncan asked as they walked through the market. "Why do you want to be one of those knights any way. They're just a bunch of guys wearing metal suits."

"That's not it. I don't want to be stuck where I am now," Adam replied as he grabbed a couple of carrots and potatoes. "I don't want to wake up one morning and see that 10 years have passed and that I'm still a blacksmith."

"Why not? Guess that's a grown up thing," Duncan said before a sound of a horse caught their attention.

They turned towards the noise and saw a four knights of the Warriors riding their horses. Everyone stared while the knights went on to some of the food stands. Two of the knights were not as impressive as the other two. They were overweight, had no manners as they gobbled up the food that was in front of them. The third knight was quiet and kept to himself looking around the market place for any signs of trouble, always keeping his helmet on. While the fourth knight just stood there with an intense look in his eyes.

Adam cringed at the thought of those slobbering guys being actual knights, but then recognized one of the other two knights. His thoughts quickly changed as he recognized her.

The knight was female and wore a tight chainmail armor under a green shirt with a heart crossed by a lightning bolt on her chest. She had white gloves and boots a metal helmet on top of her violet hair tied with two long pig tails. This was the current leader of the Warriors of the Sun; Mina Loveberry.

An opportune idea popped in Adam's mind.

"Hold this for a second, Duncan," Adam said handing his brother the shopping list and the vegetables.

Adam walked towards the four knights while straightening his own shirt. He put on his best smile and confident posture.

"Hello there, Warriors of the Sun," Adam greeted. "I've come before you to offer my application to join your illustrious ranks."

All four knights turned around to see who was addressing them. They all took a good look at the young blacksmith. The two overweight knights began laughing with chunks of their food flying out of their mouths. Their laugh was like a nail slowly digging into Adam's chest.

"You want to join our ranks? As what? A stable boy or a spittoon carrier?" asked one of the knights laughing.

"Perhaps he could be a jester!" the second knight laughed.

"No, um, my lords I want to be a knight like you," Adam replied hoping to save something.

Mina gave the two laughing knights a glare ending their laughter. She stepped forward and looked at Adam directly.

"What's your name, boy?" Mina asked.

"My name? My name is Adam Lakestone, ma'm," Adam stated.

"Ma'm, do I look like an old lady?! Or maybe you think I look like a mama, hm?" Mina questioned getting in Adam's face. "I am not your mama, boy!"

"I-I meant no disrespect, ma'm- I mean, sir!" Adam said.

"What position does your family have? Lord or something?" Mina questioned. "Come on boy I don't have all day!"

"I am not a lord," Adam answered with a sad tone. "I'm a blacksmith, and I work in Lakestone Blacksmith, sir."

This caused the two fat knights to start laughing once more with even more gusto. They said things like 'not even a royal' and 'what a helpless fool'. They were then stopped by Mina whipping them with her long pigtails.

"Then sorry boy, you don't get the job," Mina said as she and the laughing knights went back to their horses.

Adam was distraught at those words but very confused above all else. He followed after them hoping to change their mind.

"But, Captain Loveberry, you could test me. I trained with a sword three hours a day, I know my way around armor, and I'm a hard worker," Adam pleaded his case, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. "I beg you to give me a chance to prove myself."

"Are you deaf? You ain't cut out to be a knight," Mina said looking from her horse. "Being a knight must be in your blood and you don't have a killer instinct. No desire to seek your enemy and destroy it. So begone I say!"

Mina rode away and one of the knights kicked Adam down to the mud.

"Stay there, it suits you better," the knight said laughing before leaving.

Adam felt disappointed, frustrated, and most of all angry. He looked down as he got up from the dirt and the mud.

How could they judge him like that with no trial?

Duncan rushed to his side before an armored hand appeared in front of Adam.

Adam looked up and saw the last knight handing him a helping hand.

"You don't know when to give up do you, Adam?" said the knight in a voice that Adam recognized.

"Marco? Is that you?" Adam asked before grabbing his friend's hand.

The knight pulled Adam up to his feet. He then went to his fenced mask and pulled it upwards, showing the person underneath it. The knight was a young man with tanned skin, brown hair, brown eyes, a mole under his right eye and a scar running down his left. His armor was a little bulky with rounded shoulders, thick chest plates and armored gloves and boots. He then proceeded to grabbing hold of his helmet and pulling it off of him.

"In the flesh, if you could say that," Marco greeted his friend. "I see you want to join our ranks live always. What about you pipsqueak, looking to join too?" he said to Duncan.

"Hey! Who are you calling pipsqueak?!" Duncan snapped. "You and your walking trashcan friends should beg to have Adam next to you!"

"Duncan, knock it off!" Adam snapped before pausing with a little bitterness about the last statement. "Sorry about my brother Marco, he's the fighting man of the family."

"No worries here, he should meet my sister," Marco laughed.

"I heard you became a knight and that you fought against a troll and almost killed you," Adam said hoping to change the subject.

"Yep, a big one with a thick stony hide. He did this to me and almost got done by the beast," Marco said pointing to his scar. "But I knew I wasn't going to die, even with my broken bones and blood leaving my body. Just like you, Adam, this place is in our blood. And I'll die in it."

Adam didn't know how to respond. One of his oldest friends had just told him something quite... hauntingly and he wasn't sure of what he meant.

"Well, I've got to get going," Marco said putting on his helmet. "Loveberry will chew me off if I'm behind her for too long. 'Doctor's orders'. See ya around Adam,"

"Bye, Marco," Adam replied before looking down.

A short while later both Adam and Duncan returned to their home with the groceries. Their father was working on a brand new ax that had been placed a couple of hours ago.

"Kids, how did things go?" Jason asked his sons.

"We got the food that you asked for, but I think Adam is a little down right now," Duncan said, causing Jason to look at his eldest son.

"Son, what happened?" Jason asked with concern in his voice putting down the ax.

"Nothing, I just need to go for a walk," Adam said before dropping off the groceries and walking away.

Jason looked in worry at his son, wanting to help him feel better but not knowing how. His son had always been restless and wanted adventure but perhaps reality was the thing that he needed to clear his mind. At least that's what Jason hoped for his son. He taught Adam all he knew about his trade in hopes of making him a decent man, but now like a hammer and fire forge a man Jason would have to trust his son to do the right thing.

* * *

Adam was furious. He cursed his luck. He cursed the knights that looked down on him. But more than anything, he cursed not being born under different conditions. He stomped and kicked the ground before him until he reached a tall tree. He looked at the tree up and down before spotting the markings on it. They were all strikes from a wooden sword and real sword. Adam's eyes began to water when his eyes fell on the scars that the trunk had.

"Guess I'm back here without knowing it," Adam said to himself before wiping the tears off of him.

Adam walked around the tree before spotting an old wooden sword. He grabbed hold of it with both hands. He pulled the sword forwards, holding the tip straight before swinging it downwards. He took a step and swung in the opposite direction. He was by no means a well trained swords man but he wasn't a novice, copying the moves that he'd seen some knights do while training.

He circled the tree, pretending to be facing a rabid beast or a wild Fablefolk that he had heard so many stories about. Right now, Adam imagined that he was facing a vile sorceress wearing a dark cloak and a crown made out of animal bones.

"Prepare yourself, Fablefolk. For you face, Adam Lakestone," Adam said before thrusting his sword forwards.

Adam then dropped his hands before letting out a sigh. He could feel the intensity of the sun going down beyond the horizon and the wind rustle the leaves above him. He had lost track of time once more. He pressed his head on the tree in front of him and then slammed into it.

"Time to grow up, I guess," Adam said looking at the sword.

Then suddenly a scream cut through the forest, snapping Adam out of his thoughts. He scurried to his feet and held his old practice sword as he would a real sword.

"Who's out there? Show yourselves," Adam said mustering his courage.

Just then, from the bushes emerged a blond running like a rabbit chased by wolves, and right behind her was a large black boar with red eyes.

Adam jumped out of the way letting them pass. He stared with disbelief as the blond girl ran in circles with the boar chasing after her.

"What the hell is going on?!" Adam demanded.

* * *

A couple of hours earlier, Star Butterfly found herself traversing through the thick foliage of the forest.

"Ha the forest isn't the slightest competition for me, Star Butterfly," Star said before stomping on the ground like she owned it.

She felt as if she could take on the world right now and nothing could get in her way. She laughed at her superiority over the foliage but her laughter was cut short.

A growl caught Star's attention, followed by a large shadow appearing next to her. She slowly turned around and saw the black boar with red blood eyes glaring at her.

"Oh, no worry piggy. You'll be a great snack- AAAHHH!" Star screamed as the boar grew in size before it started chasing her.

* * *

Back in the present, Adam saw how Star was chased by the boar and he was unsure as to what he should do. He knew that there was no way to beat a boar with a wooden sword, but he couldn't leave the pretty girl to her fate. Just then he armed himself with valor, and then charged swinging his wooden sword hoping to catch the beast's attention.

"Have at thee, beast!" Adam said forcing the beast back with some wild swings.

Star turned to see the beast being occupied by Adam, and laughed.

"What a dumb-" Star began before running into the tree.

Adam kept swinging his wooden sword before the boar bit into it and snapped it with its tusks.

The boar stepped closer to Adam, making him fall back. He feared the worst when suddenly the boar ran away.

"What just happened?" Adam asked before he looked down between his feet.

He spotted an orange dagger. He looked around for the owner before he tried to grab it, but the dagger disappeared. Adam got back to his feet wondering what had happened, but then saw the unconscious girl.

Adam didn't waste any time and picked her up. He couldn't just leave her there.

Unbeknownst to Adam, Hekapoo stepped out of the shadows with a frown on her face.

"I am so sorry for what's going to happen to you, Adam. But this was all foretold by the old gods," Hekapoo said sadly. "We will talk soon. I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

Adam was panicking. What was he thinking picking up a strange girl in the middle of the forest and bringing her to his home. He had gotten her inside his house through the back door and past his parents. He was now looking over the unconscious girl lying on his bed. He had dropped her on top of it with as much care as he could. He then sat on the bed hoping to catch his breath.

"What was I thinking?" Adam asked himself. "I am going get in so many problems, but I couldn't just leave her there completely defenseless."

Adam looked at the downed girl and couldn't help but feel attracted to her subtle figure. She was fairer than the girls he usually saw in his everyday life. Her golden hair was amazing and he could swear that it was almost glowing. He got up from the bed and walked next to the girl's face. He now was getting a good look at her round face and couldn't help but feel attracted to her innocent looking sleepy face.

"You're kinda beautiful in an innocent sort of way," Adam said before moving a strand of hair out of her face. "Hard to say no to a face like that... And that sounds a little creepy."

Adam noticed something odd on her face. He narrowed his eyes as he finally spotted the pink heart-shaped cheek marks. He first thought that they were a scratch or a bruise. Adam pressed his thumb on her cheek -hoping that it was paint- and slowly tried rubbing it off. But the marks remained much to Adam's terror. He remembered the stories that he'd heard from the church and the stories of the knights about the Fablefolk that had cheek marks.

That they were the rulers of the different races of the Fablefolk. Kings, queens and princesses...

Adam retracted his hand at the thought.

"Oh this is just great, the first girl I bring home and turns out that she's a Fablefolk princess," Adam surmised in a whisper before a groan caught his attention.

Adam looked back to his bed and saw the princess waking up. She groaned and rose at a slow pace. She rubbed her forehead before feeling a sting. She winced at the pain before rubbing her eyes awake.

"Ouch, that stupid pig really did a number on me," Star winced. "I'll turn it into bacon next time I see it."

Adam stood dumbfounded. He expected a princess to be more refined or at the very least kinder. He held his tongue hoping not to scare her or put her in a frenzy. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life as a frog-squirle or a stone statue. His mind raced to think of something, a weapon or a protective charm. He then remembered something of the stories: iron. The weakness of the Fablefolk was iron. Adam thought that if he could get something, be it a spike or a horseshoe, then he could defend himself and his family.

Just then, Star spotted Adam. Her eyes went wide at the sight of the human.

There was a silence as they stared at one another. Neither one was making a move against the other. Time seemed to drag on as if time stood still. Adam could feel the sweat of his forehead drip down across his face and drop from his face. Star was sweating like if she was inside a furnace as she was looking around the room.

Adam could swear that his heart was going to jump out of his chest if he didn't do something. He armed himself with courage, took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

"Hey," Adam said sheepishly.

"AAAAHHH!" Star screamed before she jumped back against the wall.

Star jumped and bounced like a wild animal. She jumped over Adam causing him to duck under the pouncing wild woman. She continued scurrying and clawing around the space, kicking and sending clothes, and tools flying while screaming.

"Please, stop- let me explain," Adam begged as he caught his old wood carved knight.

"I will not listen to your lies, human! I am Star Butterfly! And you shall fear my power," Star said as she tried to climb the wall she was pressed against.

"Please, my name is Adam Lakestone. Do you remember what happened?" Adam asked hoping to calm her down.

Star began to thinking and recalling what had happened before she lost consciousness. She remembered being chased by the big boar and then she crashed against a tree.

"I was chased by a beast and then I was struck in the back by a falling tree," Star said trying to sound strong and confident.

"You actually crashed into a tree," Adam replied under his breath. "I brought you here because you were unconscious and I couldn't just leave you there."

Star narrowed her eyes at Adam. She had been raised to never trust the words of the Children of Man. She began recalling all the stories that her nanny had told her about them. How they would betray each other for baser things like money and titles. How they would massacre all the Fablefolk without remorse and how they sought to gain all the power that the Fablefolk were destined to posses. But she also remembered one more thing, their hearts were easily led astray and swayed. Star smiled at this thought and a plan was put together in her mind.

"Oh, I see," Star said as she calmed herself. "I am so sorry for the mistake on my part. I hope I can make it up to you. Adam was it?"

Star straightened herself before walking towards Adam while swaying her hips.

Adam's eyes went straight at to those hips. He blushed at the sight of the slightly curved hips moving. Like any young man, he was curious of the female gender and was unable to control his hormones. He was doing his best to hold back and keep his cool. Despite the bright blush on his face.

"Um, yes. I'm Adam," Adam replied as he tried to stop himself from drooling.

Star was right in front of Adam now and traced her finger against his chest. A light pink light came out of her hand and into Adam, making him feel light headed. Her own magical insurance that Star liked to use from time to time. She began to trace circles on his chest making him swallow his spit.

"Would you be so kind as to allow me to thank you for your galant actions?" Star asked as Adam blushed at her words. "I promise to be as kind as you want."

Adam could feel his tongue get tied up as he looked for an answer. His body began heating up, making him uncomfortable with how close Star was to him. He had little experience with the opposite gender and going this fast so quickly was making him uncomfortable. He wanted to push her away but her alluring blue bedroom eyes were making it difficult for him to take any actions.

"I-I am very flattered miss. B-But i don't even know your name," Adam said, hoping to get her off of him just enough to think of an escape plan.

"My name is Star Butterfly, princess of the Butterfly dynasty and I am going to show you my gratitude," Star said with an alluring cat-like smile.

Star's hands reached out towards Adam's face. He feared that there was no way to get out of there. He tried to talk but his words were cut short by the door opening.

"Hey, Adam, dinner is almost...," Jason said before seeing what was going on. "Ready,"

Adam and Star turned to face him, with Adam screaming 'thank the gods' in his head.

"Um, son who is this?" Jason asked before his eyes landed on Star's cheeks.

Adam noticed this and used this chance to escape Star's grasp and bolt for the door. He quickly grabbed his father and shut the door behind him. He pressed his back against the door, releasing a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for saving my life dad," Adam said before turning to his stupefied father.

"Son, who was that girl? Was- Was she a Fablefolk?" Jason asked before turning around to be sure that no one was around to hear his words.

Jason quickly pulled his son to meet him at eye level, grasping him by his shirt.

"Adam, why is that girl in your room? Was she trying to suck out your soul? Bewitch you?" Jason asked in a panic. "You didn't take or receive anything from her did you? Stay here I'll go get some iron, that ax will do just fine."

"Dad, please, calm down. I had no idea she was a Fablefolk," Adam replied catching his father before he left. "I found her in the forest while she was being chased by a boar and got knocked out. I thought that she was a girl that got lost and I wasn't thinking straight!"

"Ok, I get it son. You did a good thing without thinking, son. But if the Warriors of the Sun find her we could be in serious trouble not to mention that the truce could be broken," Jason said before calming down enough to think straight. "So far we're the only ones that know she's here. You keep her in your room and I'll go get some iron and we'll get her out of the city before anyone sees her."

Adam nodded and set out to do what his father had told him.

Jason ran down the stairs, passed his wife and younger son. He then looked through his shop for a pair of iron pliers, an iron horseshoe and the ax that he had been working on.

"Dad, when is Adam getting down here?" Duncan asked as his father grabbed the pliers and the horseshoe.

"Um, he'll be right down. The roof of his room has a damaged part and we are trying to fix it," Jason said in his best attempt to lie before grabbing the ax. "We'll be right down," he added before rushing back up the stairs.

Jason return to where Adam was and handed him one of the pliers and the horseshoe.

"Anything?" Jason asked his son.

"No movement, she could've gone back to sleep," Adam believed and hoped.

"Alright, we go on three," Jason said as they stood on both sides of the door. "One. Two."

"Three!" Adam screamed before opening the door and both of them ran in with iron pliers in their hands.

The two men looked around the room only to see that it was empty. They scanned for any signs of the Fablefolk princess, but aside from the mess there was no sign of the princess. Jason then spotted the window was open.

"She must've gotten out through the window," Adam said as he stuck his head out.

"Oh thank goodness," Jason said with a sigh of relief. "We dodged a lot of problems just now."

"We can't just let her run around the city like that," Adam said. "She could get hurt or hurt someone. I- I gotta find her!"

Adam then ran past his father and grabbed a brown worn jacket. He went out the door before Jason could say something to stop him. Adam ran down the stairs and out the door of the shop, ignoring the calls of his mother. He held on to the pliers and pocketed the horseshoe as he ran through the street while looking for any signs of Star. He was frantic and filled with guilt for what he had done. If Star got hurt he wouldn't forgive himself or worse if she hurt someone else. He had no time to waste thinking like that. He had to find her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Star was bouncing around the city streets looking at the people while giggling in wonder at the sights.

"Wow, so this is a human city," Star said before jumping over a sleeping old man. "It sure stinks here. Would it kill them to use an aromatic spell?"

Star kept on their way, skipping without a care. She passed some children that were helping their mother sell some merchandise. She giggled before grabbing a necklace and leaving without paying. The woman demanded payment but Star paid no attention to her while she put on her new necklace. She spotted the local bakery and zoomed to the front door -where some freshly baked bread and cupcakes were cooling. She grabbed a cupcake and swallowed it down without a care, unbeknownst to the hard working baker.

As Star continued on her path she began to notice the people around her, but not because of her actions. She looked at the people in the streets and could only wonder why some of the people were wearing rags and were looking so gloomy.

"Why are these guys so down? If they're so sad they should just do something that make them happy," Star rationalized without any common sense.

"Oh worn out souls! Come and gather!" a voice caught Star's small attention before a bell was rang. "For it is time for the daily gathering. All who seek comfort or a place to rest are welcomed."

Star turned to the source of the voice and saw a group of ten priests wearing brown hooded cloaks with ropes tied around their waists. Their heads were shaved in a bowl form and had rosaries around their necks. They stood in front of a church with worn white stones and had a large stain glass window at the entrance. The monks were then surrounded by a mob of people before following them to the inside of the old worn church.

All the people that entered the church sat in the old church pews as the head priest started the sermon.

Star looked around the old church's inside, taking on the surroundings around her. There were three columns on each side of the church, stained glass windows with figures of knights facing against Fablefolk. At the very front was an altar with a silver chalice and a tall cross, and next to it a podium where one of the priests opened a book and read.

"We give thanks to the gods that in their grace have helped us, the Children of Man, to thrive in this harsh world," the priest began his sermon. "Let us learn from the past and face the troubles that lay ahead. We are aware that life is hard but tomorrow is always a new day and for that we must give thanks."

"Amen." the congregation replied.

"I wish to start this day with this theme; responsibility. We are all free to make our choices in life, but we must be aware of the consequences," the priest said getting the attention of the church. "Taking responsibility for said actions is the result of understanding the choices that you've made. If you steal, you will face the responsibility of said action. If you cheat, you will face the consequences of your fouls. But if no one holds you responsible for your actions, then we must hold ourselves accountable for our actions."

Star stopped paying attention to the priest when he started talking about responsibility. She had had lectures about that since she was little from her mother. She could never get away from that boring stuff, and whenever she did something fun her mother would give her cold lectures on the subject. Star wanted to be a free spirit and by Glossaryck she was going to be free even if it killed her.

"And as we remember our actions, we must also remember the words of Glossaryck, the Mad Monk," the priest said, catching Star's attention. "Through his ancestral book, he warned us of the insanity and malice that the Fablefolk are capable of. Spurring the Warriors of the Sun to fight against their wickedness, their inherit evil, and unbridled hatred for humanity. And as such we must be held responsible for the fate of the future if the peace were to be broken."

Every word that the priest said made Star angrier and angrier. Magic crackled through her hands as they began to glow green. Her eyes narrowed against the priest before she decided to shut the priest for all his lies.

"Now, let us pray for our brothers, sister, mothers and fathers that are amongst the righteous-" the priest said before a green blast of magic struck him and sent him flying off of the altar.

Everyone turned around and saw star, her hair flowing upwards, her eyes glowing white and green magic lightning shooting out of her hands.

Fear filled the attendants as Star growled at them like a feral beast.

"Yeah, you better cower in fear you fools! You dare to slander the name of the prophet Glossaryck and use him to excuse your actions," Star growled at the fearful crowd. "You started the war, but believe me that I, Star Butterfly, princess of the Fablefolk, will end it!"

Star fired more blasts of magic at the church windows, causing people to scream in fear and run out of the church. As the people ran and chaos spread, Star couldn't help but feel like she was the queen of the world. But as quick as that feeling vanished when an arrow flew through the air and passed her face. She turned around and saw four knights aiming their swords and arrows at Star.

"Stand down, Fablefolk!" one fo the knights said.

"Aw man," Star said.

* * *

Adam heard the explosions from a street away and quickly ran towards it. He knew that this could only be a misunderstanding.

"Star was probably provoked into doing whatever she had to do to defend herself," Adam thought to himself before stopping himself.

Why was he thinking like that? Ever since Star talked to him he couldn't get her out of his head. Adam shook his head before running to the source of the chaos keeping his mind clear of any other thought. He passed through the multitudes of fleeing people, pushing through their fear filled screams he managed to get to the source of the explosions. He was forced to drop the pliers that he had with him. He was now almost unarmed.

"You have got to be kidding me," Adam said looking at the mess in front of him.

The church was burning from the inside, a large stack of black smoke coming out from the structure and in front of it was Star battling against four Warriors of the Sun. The smell of burning stone and wood casted a dark cloud of smell on the square. Star fired blasts of magic at the knights forcing them to dodge and roll out of the way before charging to attack.

If Adam thought that the situation was bad before now it was a great mess. He needed to get Star out of the square and fast. Hopefully before she murdered someone, or him. Adam ran around the chaos, keeping to the shadows of the night and the black smoke. He ducked as a stray blast of magic passed over his head.

"This is insane," Adam said before he saw Star cast a spell that made one of the knights fly through a window. "I gotta get her out of here before she kills them!"

Adam rushed through the chaos as Star held up her hands focusing magic into a sphere of magic. He only had one chance to do this and he had to make it count.

"Any last words, knight?" Star asked before being tackled by Adam.

The magic blast that Star had been preparing was fired directly at the church tower, damaging the structure.

"Are you insane? Why are you attacking them?!" Adam demanded as he struggled to get Star up to her feet.

"Let me go, you! I must end the fight!" Star said elbowing Adam in the stomach.

"No, you have to get out of the city," Adam replied holding back the pain.

Adam saw the knights getting up and looking at them. He could tell that they were getting back their bearings but if he didn't do something he'd be in trouble. He then felt the horseshoe inside his coat. He dug into his coat and grabbed the horse shoe. He pulled it out and whacked Star in the back of her head calming her down.

Star kneeled down holding her head as she felt like her head was on fire. The burning sensation felt like someone put a lit torch inside her head. She almost screamed but Adam took this chance to grab her and run away from the scene.

However, this action was not unseen.

"Did you see that? That boy helped that Fablefolk!" one of the knights said.

"We must tell Captain Loveberry immediately!" another knight added before they ran to their headquarters.

* * *

Adam ran fast through the dark streets carrying the wild princess over his shoulder. His heart was beating hard against his chest as his legs sprinted him through the darkness. He couldn't stop, if he did then they would catch him and Star. Adam took advantage of the darkness and his knowledge of the city and moved towards the backstreets. He took a sharp right turn through an alley, hiding in the darkness to catch his breath.

He heard many knights and guards with torches pass and run through the streets. Adam pressed himself against the wall of the alley just as the light of some torches passed him. He overheard the knights talking and hoped that nothing would make them look into the alley.

"They said the boy came through this way," one of the guards said.

"He must be in cahoots with the Fablefolk," added another guard.

"Find them and bring them to the captain, she'll decide their fate. Although I expect nothing less than death for the traitor," the knight said before they went on their way.

Adam looked out to make sure that they were gone. He saw them run towards another part of the city. Adam took in a deep breath as he pressed his hand on his chest. He calmed himself down at last.

"Hey, put me down!" Star demanded making Adam remember that he was carrying her like a sack of potatoes.

"Sorry, about that. But in my defense, WHAT HAPPENED BACK AT THE SQUARE?!" Adam demanded before dropping Star to the ground. "You could've killed someone."

"Hey, they started it!" Star shot back before looking away with her eyes closed.

"Did they attacked you first? Did they set the church on fire?" Adam asked.

"No, but they deserved it for lying about Glossaryck the all knowing," Star replied. "He warned the Fablefolk about their greed and disrespect for the world around them. And how they would sacrifice anyone and anything to get ahead."

"What? No, Glossaryck warned the Children of Man about the Fablefolk," Adam said. "Not the other way around. The Warriors of the Sun and the church have been saying that since before the truce was forged."

"Well then they're lying," Star said before a bucket hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out.

Behind Star stood Adam's father with the bucket.

"Dad! Why did you do that?" Adam asked.

"To get her out of here quietly, the whole city is looking for you two," Jason said. "You need to get out of here."

"I'm not running, this is all a mistake. If I can talk to them they'll understand," Adam said pleading his case.

"Son, they saw you help a Fablefolk escape after she attacked a priest, three knights and burnt a church," Jason said holding his son by his shoulders. "Nothing you say is going to change that. You need to get out of the city. Head north to the St. Tom monastery. The monks will give you sanctuary. Take this ax." Jason instructed givign his son the ax. "I wish I could go with you."

"No dad, I'm the one that's sorry. This is all my fault," Adam said taking the ax. "You may need to lay low, look for Marco he is a good friend he has to help you. Tell mom and Duncan that I'm sorry."

Adam and his father embraced in a hug before he picked up Star and ran towards the exit of the city.

* * *

Adam ran deep into the forest with only the light of the moon to show him the way. He wished that this was all a dream that he could wake up. He kept running and running until he tripped and fell face first into the ground. Adam spat the dirt out of his mouth before looking up. He spotted his training tree in front of him but someone else was there.

The woman had long red hair, yellow eyes, pale white skin and had two horns on her head with a flame in between. She wore a yellow and orange dress that shoed her alluring curves and beautiful upper body. She was the most beautiful being that Adam had ever seen. She walked forwards.

"Hello Adam, you've certainly have grown," Hekapoo said with a playful yet honest voice holding out her hand. "We have a lot to talk about."


	4. Chapter 4

Adam looked up to the mysterious woman as she offered him her hand. He lifted his hand to hold her own, but stopped himself. How did this woman know his name and was she a friend or a foe?

"Who are you?" Adam asked as he didn't dare to look away from her yellow eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"Right, I suppose that you would be apprehensive when a Fablefolk woman in the middle of the forest shows up and calls you by your name," Hekapoo surmised. "Especially after the day you've had... My name is Hekapoo. I am not your enemy, in fact I've known you since the day you were born."

Hekapoo's hand remained in front of Adam, who reluctantly took the hand. She helped him to his feet before giving him a look over. She was only three inches shorter than him but still saw him like an old friend. Despite his dirty clothes she could see all the more that was under it all. However, the sentiment was not entirely mutual Adam reached for his ax but for some reason didn't feel threatened by the demoness. He couldn't help but think of her as some kind of cat, looking at a mouse or some other critter that had caught her attention. If she wanted to do something to him she would've done so already, so he waited. Suddenly, Hekapoo placed a hand on Adam's right arm. But it wasn't hard by any means but instead like she was examining him.

"You've grown so much, and grown quite handsome," Hekapoo said with what sounded like pride, "I still remember when you were no bigger than a loaf of bread."

Adam pulled back from Hekapoo's grasp, wanting to get answers from her.

"Um- thank you for the compliment, Ms. Hekapoo. But could you please tell me what is going on and how do you know me?" Adam asked.

"Right, right, sorry got a little caught up in seeing you up close like this," Hekapoo said with a smile. "And you can just call me Hekapoo, honey. Your mother told you about how you were born in this very forest, right?"

"Yes," Adam replied as an idea of testing her popped into his head. "She said that she gave birth to me with only my father, a doctor and a nurse to help her."

"Nice try, but it was only a sweet midwife that was passing by," Hekapoo corrected. "She wore a red cloak and wrapped you in a red scarf. The same one you're wearing on your neck."

Adam reached for his scarf and then looked at Hekapoo, surprised by that knowledge.

"How do you know that?" Adam asked.

After those words left his mouth, Adam saw with his own eyed as Hekapoo began to change. Her skin turned tanned, her horns disappeared, and her eyes resembled those of a human.

"How do I look like?" Hekapoo asked before making a quick twirl. "I put this together at the spot. And ever since then, I've been looking after you from the shadows. Just like earlier today."

"Why did you help my mother back then? And why look after me?" Adam asked, now listening to every word that Hekapoo said. "I thought Fablefolk hated humans."

"Some do, but I like humans. As for what happens next, that's a bit complicated," Hekapoo said, with her eyes looking down. "Word of what happened in Echo Creek is already spreading as we speak I'm afraid."

Her tone had shifted. The happy and flirty voice turned sad and almost sad and regretful.

"I can't tell you much, but I'm allowed to tell you six things," Hekapoo began with a sombre tone. "One, your actions have set certain events into motion that had long been predicted. So you aren't to blame for what happens. The sins of the forefathers are not placed upon the sons."

"Forefathers?" Adam asked as Hekapoo continued.

"Two, beware the weakness of a pure heart as it will open the gate to darkness," Hekapoo continued as she glanced at Star. "Three, look for the true story in the highest peak where eclipse and the door reside," she continued as she was engulfed in flames. "Four, for Adam Lakestone to succeed in this endeavor you must die and through death become what he was always meant to be. Five, a king's old weapon must be reclaimed. Six, for you to save those you love you must cut out the city's heart of darkness."

As soon as Hekapoo finished her words, the fire that surrounded her vanished along with her.

Adam stood there in the middle of the woods, wondering what had happened. A beautiful Fablefolk demigoddess had just revealed that she'd been looking out for him since his birth. And now he was meant to go on a quest of some kind. What had she meant with he had to _die_ and _become what he was always meant to be? _Her words had little meaning to Adam, but he did knew that he had to find a place to hunker down for the night.

A grunt made him turn to see Star, the source all all his problems, wake up.

"Ow, what hit me in the head?" Star groaned while rubbing the back of her head.

"An iron bucket," Adam said before helping her get to her feet. "You're welcomed for getting you out of the city."

"I could've done that on my own," Star snapped back.

"Like how you could've remained hidden if you hadn't started causing chaos through the city!?" Adam asked. "Now, the truce has been broken and it'll only be a matter of time before war breaks out!"

"Yeah, and we'll win," Star replied. "Just like Glossaryck said in the ancient Book of Spells!"

"No one is going to win! People -both human and Fablefolk- have been twisting Glossaryck's words to start conflicts," Adam snapped back. "We need to show what's really going on. Yes there are atrocities committed on both sides but we can fix these things."

"Well that is your opinion," Star replied causing Adam to facepalm himself.

"If there's a war then the people and everything you love might be killed," Adam clarified before an idea popped into his head. "Besides I'm sure your queen would love to find out that one of her own caused all this because she jumped to conclusions and was messing around where she wasn't supposed to."

"Ha, you wouldn't even get close to her!" Star laughed. "She'd have you beheaded before you even reached the royal throne room. If you were even able of find where the castle is in the first place."

Adam was about to remark at the lack of empathy of the princess when he heard a horse whine coming closer. He turned to the source of the noise when he spotted lit torches coming closer towards them.

"Oh no," Adam said before he rushed towards Star.

"He-hey!" Star exclaimed as Adam lifted her up.

Adam picked her up and flung her over his shoulder once more before he ran deeper into the forest before leaning back against a tree.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Star asked. "I know that I'm hot and all but you should know that I've got standards."

"Quiet," Adam hushed.

"Oh you do not get to tell me to shush after flinging me around like a rag doll the whole day," Star replied. "And one more-"

Adam placed a hand on top of Star's mouth as the the horses and their riders got closer to where they were. He glanced around the tree and saw just who their persecutors were. His eyes went wide as he saw three Warriors of the Sun riding horses with torches in their hands. They were clearly looking for him and Star to kill them. If they made a noise they would be found out.

"There's no trace of the traitor nor the Fablefolk monster. We should keep looking," one of the knights said. "Are you sure you saw something here?"

"I swear, I saw light in here," another one of the knights responded.

"It doesn't matter, what has happened in Echo Creek will be answered for," the third knight mentioned. "The other human cities are being informed as we speak. We'll make them all pay for attacking our home."

Adam pressed himself against the tree, hoping that the torch light wouldn't discover him. He could feel Star fighting against his hand and giving him punches and kicks to get him off of him. They weren't that strong but they were causing Adam some pain. He turned to her and shot her a glare before pointing to the knights. She followed his finger causing her to stop her struggle against his hand. They lowered themselves until the dark green bushes and shrubs covered them.

Just then, a twig snapped next to Adam's feet getting the attention of the knights.

"What was that?" one of the knights asked.

"It sounded close," replied another.

"Look around," added the third knight as the first knight dismounted his horse and pulled out his sword.

Adam shrunk himself as much as he cloud as the knight stepped towards where they were hiding. He could feel the heat of the torch coming closer. Sweat began to drip from his forehead and course down his neck.

If they moved they would be spotted.

If he called out they would be spotted for sure.

And if they stood where they were, they'd also be spotted.

Adam didn't dare to move a muscle.

However, that wasn't a problem for Star. She at first tried to use her magic to blast the knights, but Adam swatted away her hand. She then begrudgingly rolled her eyes and picked up a rock. She then flung the rock far away from where they were, catching the attention of the knights.

"I heard something over there!" one of the knights said.

"Let's go!" replied the second knight.

The third knight quickly got back on his horse and all three of them rode towards the source of the noise.

Adam and Star took this chance to run away deep into the night.

"I hope this means you'll help me fix this mess," Adam said as he pulled Star along.

"Nah, more like I just don't want to get put in the dungeon of some crappy human kingdom or be executed," Star replied in a nonchalant manner much to Adam's cringe as they ran to find refuge in the forest.

* * *

Back in the Butterfly castle, both Moon and River sat on their thrones waiting for news of their daughter. River was worried and only a few minutes away to call for his hounds to look his daughter.

"They should've found her by now," River said. "Where could she possibly have gone?"

"River, calm down," Moon said placing a hand on his shoulder. "Star is just throwing another one of her tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants. She'll come around soon enough."

Moon felt rather annoyed by Star's disappearing acts. She pinched the bridge of her nose knowing fully well that Star was as hard to straighten out as it was for her to hug iron. She had tried to be a fair mother, but whenever she tried to use discipline on her she'd just fight her tooth and nail. It was as if she was always doing whatever she wanted for no other reason but to cause chaos.

"Moonpie, you know that I have to worry about her," River said trying to calm his wife. "She's a young woman and is still a long way from assuming responsibilities. I just want her to think before doing something rash."

Moon smiled at her husband, knowing that River meant well.

Just then the door of the throne room was slammed open. The two rulers turned to see a messenger satyr running towards them. He had the legs of a goat, horns on his forehead and wood-like armor covering his chest and thighs with the symbol of the Butterfly dynasty on his chest. He knelt before them short of breath with a scroll in his hand.

"Your majesties, I come bringing terrible news," the satyr said.

"What news do you bring?" Moon asked looking at the Fablefolk catching his breath.

"This was taken from a human messenger going west near our borders," the satyr explained before unrolling the scroll. "'The city of Echo Creek has been attacked by a Fablefolk princess. She caused chaos and harm to people of the church and some of the city knights. This has been taken as an act of war. I call upon the other human cities to aid us in a response to this attack. Signed Mina Loveberry.'"

"A Fablefolk princess attacking a human city? No princess would ever be foolish enough to do so!" River replied. "It must be a hoax."

However, this made perfect sense for Queen Moon. There was only one person that could do such a thing.

"Does the message include a description of the attacker?" Queen Moon urged.

"Yes, my queen," the satyr replied before looking going back to the scroll. "'The Fablefolk has been identified as one of the monarchs of the Fablefolk by her heart shaped cheek marks, and long blond hair. She avoided capture by the aid of a human male that may have charmed into betraying his kind'."

"Oh Star, what have you done?" Moon sighed in disappointment.

"My baby girl is with a man?!" River screamed. "We must find them immediately!"

The situation was not good. If the other messengers arrived at their destinations then this would escalate quickly.

"My love, we must find Star but we must also prepare for the inevitable," Moon said calming her husband. "I'll gather our armies, and I need you by my side."

"In that case, I'll call upon my best hound," River said before getting off his throne. "KELLY! I CALL UPON YOU, MY HOUND!"

As the call echoed through the room, a figure entered the room. The figure was female with sharp defined curves. She wore armored gauntlets, black leather boots, an armored purple short skirt, a blue colored shirt underneath a dark vest, and a brown belt on top that was used to hold her large sword on her back. She had bandages wrapped on her forearms that slightly covered her caramel colored skin. There were a pair of glasses on her round face, just underneath a red headband. The only other aspect that made her stand out was her long bush-like green hair that reached to her ankles.

Kelly stepped up to the two royals and bowed before them.

"You've called upon me, my liege," Kelly said with great respect. "I am at your services."

"Kelly, you are my strongest, most faithful, and most effective hound. I need you to find my daughter and bring her back here, alive," River instructed.

"I understand my Lord of the Hunt," Kelly said, rising to her feet. "Is there anything else?"

"There is a human man with her," River added, making Kelly's eyes grow wide. "Kill him."

Kelly nodded in understanding before rushing back out into the forest.

The two rulers were left to think about their next move.

"Are you sure this man deserves death, River?" Moon asked.

"You're always the one saying that I need a firm hand, I am the Lord of the Hunt for corn's sake," River replied. "Besides, any man that even thinks about touching my sweet girl without my approval will meet her end at the end of my battle ax."

"Very well, but just consider that Star may have charmed him and hasn't got the foggiest idea of what he's doing," Moon said. "Now we must call upon our forces. War is coming. What a time you picked to disappear, Eclipsa."

* * *

The sun began to rise once more in the forest. The sound of the birds, animals and other creatures waking up from their slumber accompanied the sun as it rose. The smell of fresh dew on grass engulfed the forest, cleansing it from any foul smells that would've appeared the day before. The light of the sun illuminated the forest, waking every one of its residents and its newest additions.

Deep inside the forest, under a large tree, Adam laid against it with his ax in hand. After running for hours the night before, he and Star decided to sleep on the tree in hopes of getting some rest. He slowly opened his eyes before letting out a loud and tiered yawn. A part of him hoped that all that had happened was nothing more than a strange fevered dream. But a quick look around told him that it wasn't. Adam let out a tiered sigh, seeing his situation. He moved his head until he heard a crack.

"That was the worst night of my life," Adam sighed before noticing that his shirt and pants felt wet.

Adam looked down and saw Star drooling on top of him.

"Oh, come on," Adam groaned before putting his hand on top of Star's head and pushing her off of him. "Now, I have to wash this off."

Star then began to wakeup with a groan. She looked around almost unsure as to where she was.

"Where am I?" Star asked as Adam got back to his feet.

"We are in the forest north of Echo Creek," Adam replied getting Star's attention.

"Oh, you're still around, I thought you'd have gone on your own way by now," Star said. "Isn't there a town or anything around here?"

"We should be about... I have no idea," Adam said as he looked for anything that could give him a direction. "I don't suppose you have a map."

"Nooooooo... but I do know the forest like the back of my hand," Star answered. "I should be able to find my way back home in record time. Got anything to eat around here?"

Adam couldn't help but roll his eyes at the princess' self assured ego. But his mind quickly went back to the previous night's events. His conversation with Hekapoo had left him with many questions. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that a Fablefolk demigoddess had been looking over him, and that had warned him about some sort of quest he had to go on. Her words rattled inside his head through the entire night and he had yet to make heads or tails of them. He had always wanted to find adventure out there, but he never thought that the adventure he wanted so badly was like this. Adam sighed as he tried to clear his mind, but his stomach began to rumble.

Adam placed his hand on his stomach.

"Guess we should have some breakfast," Adam said. "Thankfully, my dad managed to grab something before we got out of the city."

Adam turned around and saw that Star was munching down all their food.

"This isn't so bad," Star said before taking a bite out of a loaf of bread. "Don't you have any corn?"

"What are you doing?" Adam screamed before pulling the bag and the food away from Star.

Adam looked in the bag to see most of the food gone.

"This food was supposed to last me until I got to St. Tom Monastery," Adam shot the princess with a glare. "That's a three day trip."

"That was for a whole trip?" Star asked. "Oh, sorry."

Adam only growled at Star before reaching for the ax before walking away.

"You're the worst princess I've ever met!" Adam yelled as he walked away from her. "And you're the only princess I've ever met."

"Hey, you can't just leave me here like that," Star called back as she ran after him.

"Watch me," Adam added walking faster. "I'll figure this out on my own. Without your help!"

"Alright, that's it," Star said before she stopped herself. "You won't listen to me, then I'll make you."

Star raised her left hand as it began to glow bright pink. She aimed it at Adam before she began to chant a spell.

Adam turned around to see what Star was planning and grew pale at the sight.

_"Rowdy soul that refuses to obey your master, I bound you to my whim and will. Super bonding red ribbon!" _Star casted as a red whip shot out of Star's hand and fired at Adam.

"Wait, stop! You can't do this!" Adam begged before holding up his ax as his only form of defense.

The light of the red ribbon struck the iron blade of the ax before bouncing back to where it came from. Directly at Star Butterfly. The blast struck Star and sent her flying backwards.

Adam dropped the ax feeling a stinging pain. He pulled back his sleeve and looked at his right arm's wrist. The skin on his wrist had turned red as if it had been tattooed, and right in the middle was a marked heart.

"What the heck is this?" Adam asked before he started rubbing it but to no avail.

Adam then saw Star groaning and getting back up. Not wanting to waste time, he picked up the ax and rushed to Star's side.

"What was with that spell?" Star said before looking at the palm of her left hand to see a red tattooed heart inside a circle.

Star was confused at this but didn't get far as Adam held her up.

"What did you try to do to me?!" Adam demanded.

"Oh, I just used my own version of an old spell called the Super bonding red ribbon," Star explained. "Now you'll do everything I tell you. Now give me the rest of the food."

"Are you serious? No way I'm doing that!" Adam replied before walking away from her.

"Huh? It should've worked," Star said trying to follow and try again. "Bow down before me! Listen to me!"

"I won't do any of those things," Adam replied while looking at the strange mark on his wrist. "How do I get this thing off of me?"

"I won't get it off until you start listening me," Star said.

Adam and Star continued walking on their path while Star continued to demand Adam to do things for her. He ignored her for the most part, he was trying to get the tattoo off of him. He rubbed it but to no avail and was just about to give up before spotting a large body of water up ahead. He continued walking until he found himself in front of a large crystal blue lake that seemed untouched by man or beast.

"Finally," Adam said just as Star caught up to him.

"Why won't you listen to me?" Star asked as Adam got closer to the lake. "The spell's never failed me before."

"You use it often?" Adam asked as he knelt in front of the lake.

"Not that often. People listen to their princess," Star replied. "Isn't that what people do for royalty?"

"Not when they use magic to get what they want," Adam said as he submerged his hands on the lake he tried to rinse the tattoo but it didn't work.

"I don't see why. I've got the power, I should use it," Star argued.

"Don't Fablefolk usually use magic to help and not abuse it?" Adam asked as he rinsed. "I mean, you know, use power with responsibility."

"Seriously?! My mom always tells me that and she just keeps on stifling my creativity," Star groaned. " 'Don't slide down the stairs, Star!' 'Don't fight trolls, Star!' 'Don't ride wild warnicorns in the palace, Star!' Get a life, mom."

"She actually sounds like she might've had some good points there," Adam said as he turned to face Star.

"I'm weird, alright?!" Star replied.

"Yeah, but that doesn't give you the right to go on a rampage," Adam shot back.

As they began to talk and argue, a dark blue human-like hand with scales popped out of the water.

"You're just saying that because you don't know me," Star said glaring at Adam. "I'm a young! Young people are dumb!"

"That's not an excuse. You have to take responsibility for your actions before someone get hurt or worse-!" Adam said before being pulled into the river as Star reached for his hand.

"Human boy?" Star asked as she looked for Adam, but then another hand shot out of the water and dragger her into the lake.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, awesomerebel55 here. Just wanted to let you know that I hope you, my readers, become more engaged with this story. If you read you must give me your thoughts. Faster reviews means faster chapters. And I'm sure many of you want me to continue my other story, so the faster I finish the faster more will come from that story.**

**Now with that rant out of the way... on with the chapter.**

* * *

Darkness was the only thing that Adam could see. He felt like he was floating in some kind of dark void. His whole body felt numb to the point that he couldn't feel anything, or wether he was on solid ground or on water. He could feel everything drift away from him and he couldn't do anything to get it back. He tried to remember what had happened but his mind was slow to wake up and he could just barely think.

That was when something came to his mind.

_Adam..._

It began like a whisper in his ear.

_Adam..._

Slowly it started getting louder.

_Adam..._

And louder.

_Adam!_

* * *

Adam's eyes snapped open as he was finally awoken from his dreamless slumber. His eyes stared at the humid stone ceiling above him. He could hear water dripping from the stalactites around him. The air was humid and the feeling started to come back to his body. His eyes quickly adapted to the light that was being reflected upwards. Adam felt a sting on his left shoulder as he slowly lifted his head.

"What happened?" Adam asked himself.

With a groan, Adam turned his body. He felt the wet stone floor press against his body as he managed to put both hands against the floor. His body now completely back to his control allowed him to see just where he was. He saw that he was in some sort of cavern right next to a glowing blue pool. He looked around to see the cavern, in hopes of figuring out how he got to this place.

"Where the hell am I?" Adam asked as he struggled to his feet.

Adam turned to his head spotting his ax laying only a couple of feet away from him. Suddenly, a light groan caught his attention. Adam turned around to spot the source of the groan with his ax in hand. On the opposite side of the cavern was none other than Star Butterfly, laying on the ground facing upwards like a wooden board.

Adam rushed to her side before he began shaking her.

"Star, wake up," Adam said only getting more groans as a response. "Wake up, you useless princess. We need to get out of here."

Adam continued shaking Star but was unable to get any other reaction out of her.

"Alright, that's it," Adam said as he pulled back his hand ready to slap Star.

But before he could wake her up, Adam heard a splash coming from the pool. He turned around and saw the waters moving and from below the surface of the crystal clear water he spotted a human-like figure swimming towards the surface. He couldn't fully make it out but Adam quickly went back to where he had woken up. He placed down his ax next to him and kept his eyes half open, pretending to still be asleep. He waited for the figure to pop out of the water, unsure if it was some kind of monster or lake spirit. Just then, he saw from the corner of his eye the figure coming out of the water.

The creature was female with long platinum blond hair that reached past her shoulders with a blue highlighted bit on her left side. She was beautiful with a young angle like face and a curvy body.

Adam almost went wide eyed but then he got a better look at her whole body.

The woman's body was tanned colored with blue scales in her arms, and legs with darker shades of blue in her upper arms, outer thighs and feet. She was dressed with a light blue shirt that showed a decent amount of cleavage and a brown cloth that covered her lower half. On her left wrist was what appeared to be a shackle of some kind. She then shook her head leaving her wet hair to get dried up in a matter of seconds.

Adam tried to stay as still as possible but he was forced to lift his head to see what the mysterious fish girl was doing.

In her right hand she carried a fish from the lake. She placed the fish on the ground before she knelt next to Star. She began sniffing her and looking over her body.

Adam feared that the strange female was going to eat them, if he didn't do anything. He reached for the ax but he accidentally dropped the iron horseshoe that he carried inside his jacket.

The horseshoe fell and clashed against the stone floor causing a 'chink' noise to echo through the cavern.

Fear crept into Adam's soul as the creature stopped what she was doing.

She turned towards Adam and slowly crawled on four legs towards him.

Adam closed his eyes but he could feel her body heat just hovering above him. The dripping from her clothes hit Adam's body like tiny taps from a hand. To Adam it felt like someone was poking him to see if he was dead or alive. He stayed as still as he could as he felt something the warm body getting closer to his face. He heard three sniffs around his face before she pulled away from him.

"You can open your eyes now human," a playful and laid-back voice said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Adam slowly opened his eyes only to be met with the face of the strange female creature. He now could see her with much more clearness. She had pale blue eyes, a couple freckles on her cheeks with some blue scale spots under them, and an orange seashell necklace hung around her neck.

"Huh, brown eyes. I wondered if humans had other eye colors," she said before moving a few strands of hair off of his face. "What's your name, dude?"

"My name is Adam," Adam replied completely confused. "What is your name?"

"My name is Jackeilinda Aqualynn Thomas, but my friends call me Jackie," Jackie introduced herself before getting off of Adam. "I've never met humans before. You are very funny looking. Sorry for the whole pulling you out like that. I don't meet a lot of people. Fish?"

"I'm good. This is not the weirdest way I've ever met a girl," Adam admitted as he lifted himself up and picked up his ax. "What is this place? Why did you bring us both here?"

"This is my home," Jackie said. "Best view of the Lake of Avalon. I've lived here since I was a little girl."

"Seems lonely," Adam muttered as he looked around.

"Yeah, but as for why I brought you here," Jackie said before getting in front of Adam's face. "I really wanted to meet a human. I heard so many stories while growing up about them and I really wanted to see for myself. Tell me, do you guys really only have 270 bones in your body? Do you only have hair on your head or does it appear in other parts? Are you a male or a female? What is up with all these layers of clothes?"

Jackie continued asking as she circled around Adam looking him over. She was like a little kid seeing something strange for the first time in her life. She observed and examined with pinpoint accuracy to see if her questions could yield any answers. Jackie was trying to feel every part of Adam's body getting him to jump away from her after she touched his ass more than once.

"Hey, hey! Hands off the merchandize!" Adam said jumping away from Jackie's touch. "You don't touch people like that ever!"

"Oh man, I am so sorry! I didn't break anything, did I?" Jackie apologized.

"No, you didn't break anything," Adam clarified. "How do you know so much about human society if you've never seen a human before?"

Jackie rushed to the deeper part of the cavern. She moved a couple of boulders out of the way and she then began pulling out a large wooden chest.

Adam walked up to where Jackie had dragged the chest and saw how she opened the busted lid. Inside the chest was not treasure but many books. Some very old with leather covers, others with stitched backs and others wrapped in animal fur.

"Wow, that's a lot of books," Adam admitted as he looked at all the books inside.

"Yeah, a few years ago someone dropped this chest into the lake," Jackie said before she took out one of the books. "I brought it here and began reading all of these fascinating books. They are my path to other waters. More often than naught with a fish in hand."

Suddenly it all clicked for Adam. The desire for knowledge, the ability to survive underwater and the craving for fish. He wanted to kick himself for being so foolish.

"You're a mermaid!" Adam said out loud.

"Yeah, bet you expected flippers or a couple of gills, right dude?" Jackie said with a cheeky smile before opening the book in her hand.

"But aren't you supposed to be in, well you know, the sea?" Adam asked. "That's at least six days from Echo Creek to the South."

"Yeah, that's the weird part," Jackie said looking to her shackle. "One day I was swimming in the ocean and then I was brought here by the elders of my tribe. Something about keeping Caliburn under careful watch, that it was my destiny."

Adam couldn't help but feel bad for the mermaid. He knew all too well about how one can be pushed to do something that they didn't want to. Or have the choice to choose. He placed his hand on Jackie's back to make her feel better.

"But enough about that, tell me, is this fact or fiction?" Jackie asked showing a book page to Adam.

"What's that?" Adam asked looking at the pages.

"It's a book by some guy named Guillermo something or other," Jackie answered. "It tells all of human history all they way from its beginnings. Is it true that you came from monkeys."

"Wait, let me see that," Adam said before he began reading. "Wow, this guy makes a lot of weird sense."

Adam turned to see the name of the author, Lord Guillermo Del Toro, and recognized the book that he was reading.

"This is Toro's book A Brief and Weird Recount of Human Life," Adam said. "But this book and all its copies were burnt years ago by a mysterious fire."

Adam then turned to the chest and rummaged for more and more books. Every title he found was one of the books that had seemingly been lost to time and people only knew about them by word of mouth. These works supposedly took a deep look into sciences, astrology, and the life styles of different Fablefolk and magical creatures.

"These books shouldn't even be here, but they are," Adam said in utter surprise.

"Yeah, they are cool," Jackie replied. "Are they real or are they fiction?"

"I think this is all real, but why would they all be here?" Adam asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine, dude," Jackie said

Suddenly, a shriek caught them both off guard!

"YEEEEEAAACK!"

Adam and Jackie turned around to see what the source of that scream was. Adam held up his ax, ready to swing it against some monster or wild beast that was going to attack them while Jackie hid behind him.

The source of the shriek was of course Star Butterfly as she had finally woken up from her slumber.

"Oh man, I had the weirdest dream ever!" Star said. "I thought that I was running for my life through a forest and then I was drowning and I think I have a fish in my pants."

"Oh, the human girl, I completely forgot about her," Jackie said sheepishly.

"Trust me, you haven't missed much," Adam said lowering his ax. "And she isn't human. She's a Fablefolk princess. But she doesn't really behave like one."

Jackie gasped before bowing down to Star.

"I am very sorry for my actions, your highness," Jackie said while bowing down in front of Star.

"Ha, finally some recognition," Star said before standing up and looking at Adam. "Now you also bow down to me, human."

"Yeah, I don't think so. Please tell Jackie to stop bowing to you, it's uncomfortable," Adam said waving his right hand.

As Adam said that, the tattoo on his right wrist glowed.

Star suddenly felt a burning sensation on her left hand and was compelled to obey Adam's words.

"Stop bowing before me, Jackie. It's uncomfortable," Star said as Adam instructed before shaking up her head. "What the heck was that?"

"You finally listened to me," Adam said before noticing his mark. "Apologize for eating all my food." He said before waving his hand, seeing his mark glow.

"I'm not going to- I'm sorry for eating your food," Star replied as if she was on autopilot. "How is this possible?"

"Wow, looks like you two are spell bonded or something," Jackie guessed before going to the chest. "I think I read a book about that."

Jackie then pulled out a small handbook covered in green leather with a worn out golden outline and a title that read 'Bonding Magic'. She scrolled through the pages until she found the one that she was looking for.

"Here we go," Jackie said before showing the picture of the book. "The Super Bonding Red Ribbon spell, 'the caster creates a master and servant like bond that makes whoever is struck by the spell a servant to the caster. Whenever the master makes a command he or she must wave their hand and the servant does it even against their will'."

"Wait, now I'm his servant?! But I casted the spell!" Star barked.

"As messed up as that spell sounds, Star is right," Adam admitted. "She casted the spell. What do you usually do when casting that spell?"

"It says here that like any other spell of the bonding kind, 'the spell must have a line of sight towards the target and may be bounced off or back if it hits an iron based surface'," Jackie pointed out.

Adam then looked at his ax.

"So that's why it bounced, my ax blocked it," Adam surmised.

"Break he bond then!" Star demanded.

"How do am I supposed to do that?" Adam asked. "You're the one that casted the damn thing. Plus, let's not forget about the war that's going to take place up there if we don't do something about it."

"War? What war?" Jackie asked.

"Long story short, I found Star, brought her to Echo Creek and then she began causing chaos," Adam explained.

"Hey! They deserved it for lying about Glossaryck's words!" Star said getting in Adam's face. "Humans started the ancient war and we answered with a vengeance!"

"That's funny, because the version I and every single kid in Echo Creek has been told is that the Fablefolk have tried to destroy the Children of Man!" Adam responded butting heads with Star.

The tension between the two was so thick that one could easily cut it with an ax or a sword. But that didn't last long.

"Actually, there are two different versions of that story," Jackie added causing Adam and Star to turn around.

"What?" they both asked.

Jackie pointed to the chest.

"There are two versions of the Gospel of Glossaryck in the chest," Jackie said.

Both Adam and Star jumped at the chest in search for the two books. They elbowed and pushed each other in order to get to the books. Jackie couldn't help but stare at them in some amusement. Her only company were non-intelligent fish after all.

"Here, I've got it!" both Adam and Star said as they held up two different books.

They each looked at the books that shared the same title; 'The Gospel of Glossaryck'. They both opened their books and looked through the pages. They each were marked by handwriting and parts were highlighted. The story similar but significant parts were very different.

"I don't understand. How come there are two versions?" Adam asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Jackie said.

"Well it's obvious what's happening," Star said.

Both Adam and Jackie turned to hear the answer of the Fablefolk princess.

"Humans fabricated this version from the real one that the Fablefolk have known for generations," Star said with pride.

Adam and Jackie looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"I think I hit her a little too hard," Jackie said.

"Nope, this is how she usually is," Adam said before looking at the book. "If these books have been spread around for years, then whoever wrote them must know what triggered the war years ago. They have been manipulating both the Fablefolk and the Children of Man into fighting."

Adam went back to the book and searched for any clues as to where the books came from. He then spotted some notes written in a strange language throughout the book. Questions kept piling on for Adam and he was getting frustrated for not having any answers. Just as he reached the last page of the book he found what appeared to be a final word of the one that made the notes. Adam spotted a signature at the bottom that read 'Selena the Shy'.

"Who is Selena the Shy?" Adam asked.

That seemed to catch Star's attention. She perked up and walked up to Adam.

"How do you know Selena's name?" Star asked.

"Do you know her?" Adam asked.

"She was my grandmama," Star answered waving it off like it was nothing. "Big lover of books and secrets, went missing ages ago."

"She wrote these notes," Adam said showing the notes. "I assume that she wrote the same thing in the other book as well. Can you translate it?"

"Nope," Star simply replied. "That's witch writing, only a witch can read it. And I just so happen to know someone who might. But..."

"What's the catch?" Adam asked. "As if I don't already know."

"Break the bond and I'll take you to her," Star said with a sneaky smile. "Sounds like a great deal to me."

Adam groaned in frustration at Star's childishness. There was no way he could just get rid of her with something this big happening. But how do you explain things to someone that isn't willing to listen. Adam rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to come up with some reasonable argument to get Star to stop being such a pain.

"If you take him to your witch friend, she can make sure he breaks the bond," Jackie suggested getting Adam out of his thoughts.

"Yeah! You can't trust humans," Star said before turning to Jackie. "Jackie, right? You are one smart girl."

"Well, I read a lot," Jackie replied. "But I-"

"Let's go now!" Star said as she walked away from Adam and Jackie.

"I'm not going to last with her like that," Adam sighed before turning to Jackie. "Are you sure we can take these two with us?"

"Yeah, I've already read them several times," Jackie said with sadness in her voice. "If you jump into the pool and swim for a little you'll be back on the surface. Feel free to drop by at any time."

Adam looked sadly at Jackie, she had been helping them and despite technically kidnapping them had been a great host. She had even offered them fish.

"You know, you could come with us," Adam suggested. "We can even help you get back to the sea. You don't need to stay here in this cavern, all alone."

Jackie put on a sad smile on her face before answering.

"I'd love to, but I'm forced to be here to keep Caliburn safe," Jackie said holding up her shackle. "Even if no one knows the sword is here."

Adam looked down in disappointment. He didn't want Jackie to be a prisoner away from her family. Especially if it wasn't her choice. If only that stupid sword wasn't here. Just then an idea came to Adam.

"Where is that sword anyway?" Adam asked.

* * *

Adam, Jackie and Star plunged into the water of the lake and swam out of the cavern. The clear blue waters of the lake were illuminated by the rays of the sun. It was as if one was floating in the air as many fishes swam around the group. If Adam could say anything underwater it would've been; life sure seems better underwater. As Adam looked at the lake he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Adam turned to see Jackie pointing to the middle of the lake. He and Star followed Jackie to the center of the lake where many fish were swimming around an object. Jackie swatted away the fish revealing the sword Caliburn, seemingly untouched by time or the elements.

Adam approached the sword before planting his feet against the ground and grabbing hold of the sword's handle. He pulled upwards, trying to lift the sword but it didn't move an inch. Adam tried again and again, but Caliburn wouldn't budge. It seemed like the sword was connected to the ground and pulling it was as if Adam tried to lift the earth itself.

Adam pulled on the sword until he felt his lungs were burning. He opened his mouth causing the air in his lungs to bubble towards the surface.

Star then began laughing and thus her air got out of her.

Seeing this Jackie grabbed hold of Adam and Star before swimming quickly to the surface.

* * *

All three of them broke through the water and took in a deep inhale of air.

Adam and Star coughed out water as Jackie easily lead them to the shore of the lake.

"Ok, so the sword didn't move," Adam said after spitting out water.

"What did you expect? Only a worthy Fablefolk may draw upon the mighty sword Caliburn," Star said before she used magic to dry herself.

"Well, I didn't see you try to lift the sword," Adam mumbled.

"It was a sweet try Adam, but I guess I'll have to stay here," Jackie said as Adam looked at her.

Suddenly, Adam got another idea.

"Jackie, you're supposed to stay here as long as you wear that shackle, right?" Adam asked.

"Yep, that's pretty much the gist of it," Jackie said holding up her shackled wrist.

Jackie tried getting out of the lake but then the shackle began pulling her back down. The shackle glowed until Jackie was back in the water.

Adam took hold of her hand and began looking over it. Years as a blacksmith had taught Adam that everything had a weakness. That meant that he could find a way to get it off of Jackie's arm. He spotted what looked like a bump that was where the shackle bended to open. He looked for how the shackle was constructed and if there were any other weak points, unaware that his hands were all over Jackie's arm causing her to blush.

"Um, Adam," Jackie softly said. "you have quite a grip there."

"Oh, sorry," Adam said being caught by surprise. "But I think I found something that might help get it off. Place your hand on the ground and don't move."

"Oh, really?" Jackie asked as Adam stepped back. "You planning on picking a lock or something?"

"Something like that," Adam said. "Now, don't move a muscle."

That last part caught Jackie's attention.

"Why do you say thaAAAT!?" Jackie screamed as she saw Adam holding his ax high over his head.

In a swift move, Adam brought down the ax against the shackle, forcing Jackie to close her eyes.

A loud chink echoed for a little bit before Jackie opened her eyes once more. Her eyes went wide at the sight of the shackle being cut in half.

"Man, that was a close one," Adam said pulling back the ax. "Sorry for that, but I needed to do it quickly before you tried to get out of it."

Jackie looked at her arm for the first time since she had been given the shackle that she could feel her arm freely. She stepped out of the lake completely, no weight pulling her back into the water and nothing holding her back. She was out of the lake and couldn't be happier. Jackie began screaming and jumping up and down in utter glee before she ran back and forth next to the shore.

"This is amazing!" Jackie screamed before hugging Adam. "I mean you scared me to death but you set me free! Thank you!"

"Um, yeah, you're welcomed," Adam said as a red blush appeared on his face.

Jackie then began to jump and run around again.

Adam smiled at how happy the mermaid was. He turned to where the shackle was and picked up its remains. Part of him told him that he had no right breaking it since it was a Mermaid cultural artifact and all, but another part of him told him that doing it was the right thing to do. Now Jackie could decide what to do with her life. It did seem like the bracelet was meant to be in this lake.

Adam then chucked the remains of the bracelet into the lake.

"If there's someone to lift that sword, then it'll happen one day," Adam said.

"Hey lovebirds! Move it then you can have fun!" Star called out.

"Fine, let's get this over with," Adam sighed turning away from the lake.

As Adam walked up to catch up to Star and Jackie, the lake lightly glowed before hiding its presence from any who weren't worthy of what lied inside it.

Caliburn stood at the bottom of the lake, waiting for the time for its master called upon it.

* * *

The newly assembled trio walked down the path through the forest, following Star of all people.

Adam had given Jackie a spare cloak to cover her body, not that he didn't enjoy the sight of her body. But because of her lack of other clothing.

As they continued to walk, Adam saw some of the most amazing trees that stretched high into the air. Their leaves were green emerald and the creatures that they ran across were magnificent. The light from the sun was perfect for the travel and there was no clouds in the blue sky. Adam wished that his family was here with him, they would've loved the fresh air. But the thought of his family made him think of how he left things. They had to be alright, he thought to himself.

As for the mermaid, she was loving the sights of the trees and the birds chirping away in the sky.

"This is so amazing," Jackie said as she looked at a butterfly. "There's so much stuff that you don't see in the lake or the ocean."

"You think this is cool? You should see my friend Janna's awesome play pad," Star said while walking like nothing was wrong with the world. "She knows how to get down."

"I just hope that she can get the bonding spell removed," Adam said. "Don't you think that I should wear something to disguise myself? I don't suppose that the Fablefolk town citizens will take kindly to a human carrying an ax made of iron."

Star merely shrugged off his worries with a wave of her hand.

"You know, this is why humans only last less than a century," Star said. "You worry too much."

"And you don't worry about anything," Adam replied when an idea popped in his head. "I wish you would be a little more serious. I could do with a little less bouncing."

Star suddenly stiffened up with the bonding taking control. She stopped bouncing and a more focused face appeared on hers. She started walking normally and whenever she tried to bounce she'd be pulled down to the ground.

"I don't like you," Star said as she walked angrily.

"Oh calm down, you'll get rid of the bond soon enough..." Adam said before he spotted something up ahead.

Everyone turned to where Adam was looking and saw a large stack of black smoke coming from the town further down the road. The town down the road was being attacked. Houses were being burnt. Supplies were being ransacked. Fablefolk were running in fear as horseback ridders attacked. But the ones attacking made Adam's eyes go wide.

It was the Warriors of the Sun attacking.


	6. Chapter 6

Adam couldn't believe his eyes. Fire and black smoke took center stage in his mind as different Fablefolk ran around in fear. Adam watched in horror as the knights of the order that he had wanted to be part of were behaving no better than raiders. He had always pictured the Warriors of the Sun as peacekeepers, protectors of the innocent and brave heroes. But all those views were broken by what he was looking.

The knights were ridding on their horses holding up their swords as Fablefolk creatures ran in fear.

The cries of the Fablefolk echoed in Adam's head before Jackie's voice broke him out of it.

"What are they doing?" Jackie asked, horrified by the sight.

"I don't know? This has to be a mistake," Adam said. "The Warriors of the Sun would never do this. They are protectors not common raiders."

"We'll they apparently are doing it," Star said as she watched the buildings burn.

Adam couldn't hear her words, he needed to do something. He couldn't allow this to continue.

"You two stay here and stay out of sight," Adam said before he ran down towards the town.

"What is he doing? He's going to get himself killed," Jackie said.

"That seems about right," Star replied as Adam ran. "Well it was nice knowing him."

Jackie shot the princess a glare causing her to squint.

"Alright, we'll go help him," Star said before they both ran after Adam.

* * *

Adam ran towards the burning village as fast as his legs could take him. He felt his heart beating against his chest as he ran. He didn't know what was going to happen but he knew he had to find out what to do. Emotions swirled around inside his head, like a whirlpool pulling him down into the dark reaches of the bottom without any form of air. There had to be an explanation to what the Warriors were doing, Adam thought to himself. But every step brought him closer to the feeling of the burning buildings. A scream caught Adam's attention.

Adam spotted a group of dwarves trapped inside a burning building. He rushed towards the building and pulled at the door but it was stuck. He looked inside the building. He saw that the people inside were trapped by a downed column and the room was filling up with smoke. The terrified faces of the dwarves made Adam feel emboldened to try something, he couldn't waste any time.

"Hang on!" Adam called out before pulling back his ax.

Adam brought down the ax against the door, sending splinters and burnt pieces with every strike. He swung the ax again and again, slowly cutting down the door. After five heavy strikes, the door was finally torn apart, allowing Adam to help the dwarves escape. Adam coughed before he ran to where the burning column was crushing a dwarf.

Two dwarves were trying to lift the burning column.

Adam picked up the column, wincing from the pain. He lifted the column with the aid of the other two dwarves. After the column was raised, Adam held it up as the third dwarf was pulled out of the rubble.

Once the dwarves were free they turned to Adam as he dropped the column before holding his hands in pain.

Adam turned to the dwarves before pointing to the exit.

"Go! Now!" Adam instructed as the dwarves ran out of the building.

The dwarves rushed out with Adam right behind them, coughing from the smoke. Once outside, Adam was able to breath fresh air before seeing the Warriors of the Sun gathering in the center of the village.

Adam rushed towards them with ax in hand, hoping to get answers for their actions.

In the center of the village, five knights surrounded a humanoid frog creature wearing a black shirt, grey gladiator style skirt and spiked shoulder pads. He held a broad sword in his hands, ready to face his enemies.

"We'll ask you once more, Fablefolk," a knight asked. "Where are your weapons?"

"There are no weapons here! There only be peaceful creatures here!" the frog man said. "Now come and face me like men!"

"Like we'd ever lower ourselves to meet you in the ground," another knight laughed.

The Warriors of the Sun unsheathed their swords and charged at the frog man. They swung their swords downwards trying to cut down the Fablafolk creature. But the frog man would not be brought down so easily.

The frog man blocked the swings of the swords with his broadsword before jumping high in the air with his strong legs. He held his sword high in the air before bringing it down on one of the knights, knocking him off of his horse. The knight grabbed hold of the frog man's arm. The frog man felt the burn of the iron armor forcing him to jump back, only to be knocked back by a morningstar.

The frog man was sent to the ground as the knights circled around him with their swords drawn and ready to strike.

"You shall pay for attacking a human city, Fablefolk," the knight said as he held up his sword. "Any last words?"

"Cowards," the Frog man replied.

The knight got ready to strike down the frog man with his sword only to be blocked by another blade.

The frog man looked up to gasp in surprise as another human with an iron ax blocked the sword.

The knights all stared with surprise as a human stood in between the knight and the frog man.

"What are you doing boy?" the knight asked. "This monster attacked us."

"Why are you attacking this place? These Fablefolk weren't doing anything!" Adam said as he struggled to hold the sword back with his ax. "You were setting their homes on fire."

"They attacked a human city!" the knight said before drawing back his sword. "They must pay! And no traitor will get in out way!"

The knight swung his sword forcing Adam to jump back, avoiding the a cut to his head.

This chaos gave the frog man the opening to reclaim his sword and kick back one of the knights.

Adam tried to regain his footing but the knight kept swinging. All his practice with the tree had not prepared him for all these swings, but he had to think of something

"Wait for the opening!" the frog man instructed as he uppercutted a knight in the face.

Adam heard the instruction. He tried to figure out the rhythm and the patterns of the knight's attack to find an opening. He began counting, one, two, three. Adam counted the swings twice before spotting his opening. But by every time he tried to block or dodge the attacks, he was cut and scratched by the knight's blade. A cut on his arm, one in his left cheek and another one in his right arm.

The knight jumped forward with his sword aimed directly at Adam's chest.

Adam took this chance. He sidestepped to the left before swinging the blade of his ax directly at the knight's face. Bringing him down.

The blade went into the helmet's visor imbedding itself in the knight's head. Killing him there.

Adam stood in shock as he had actually killed another human being. He had never killed someone before. His hands were shivering as he let go of the ax. But before he could process what had happened another knight came from behind and punched him to the ground.

"Betrayer!" the knight called. "You shall pay for betraying your kind!"

Adam's eyes went wide as the knight prepared to stab him. But the attack never came.

"EXPLODING CRYSTAL CUPCAKES!"

A purple light followed by crystals shaped cupcakes struck the knights sending them flying.

Adam looked in shock as the knights flew away from him. He then looked towards the origin of the crazy magic and saw the source of it.

Princess Star Butterfly. And standing next to her was Jackie.

"Oh, yeah, I was so dying to do that!" Star called out like a girl in a candy shop. "Are there more knights to knock around?"

Jackie rushed to Adam's side and helped him get back to his feet as Star looked for the knights to blast once more.

"Are you alright?" Jackie asked. "We need to get you out of here."

"Y-Yeah, we have to get out of here," Adam said regaining his senses.

"What? But I was just getting into it," Star whined before firing another blast of magic at one of the runaway knights.

"This way, follow me!" the frog man called to the three young adults.

Adam grabbed hold of the sword of one of the fallen knights before he, Jackie and Star took off after the frog man. They ran following the frog man through the smoke and the fire. They coughed a little as they arrived at the border of the burning village. The heat of the fire was still on their skin when they ran into the forest.

* * *

Night had fallen and the now four person group gathered around a camp fire. Adam kept looking at his hands and was quiet for the most part. Jackie remained by his side as she tried to calm him. Star for her part was sitting close to the fire, taking in the heat of the fire. And finally, the frog man stared at Adam with his sword at the ready.

"Is it the first time you killed a man?" the frog man asked, getting Adam's attention.

"Is it that obvious?" Adam asked looking at the frog man.

"Well yeah, you're shaking like a leaf," Star said, earning a glare from Adam. "But at least you popped your killing cherry. Congratulations!"

Adam didn't answer. He was more focused on the fact that knights of the Warriors of the Sun had attacked a seemingly peaceful Fablefolk village.

The frog man took this chance to speak.

"So you are the human that kidnapped the daughter of queen Moon?" the frog man asked. "I expected a trained killer, not a young human that cannot stomach a kill."

Adam stood up against that claim.

"I didn't kidnap Star. I found her knocked out in the woods and foolishly brought her home and then all this mess started," Adam snapped. "Now were in the midst of war and it's all my fault."

"Adam, no one blames you for what's been happening," Jackie said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I do," Star mumbled under her breath.

The frog man stood up looking directly at Adam. He was looking for any signs of deceit in his words but he found none. He had been face to face against many humans in his life, but rarely would he find one that was truthful with his words.

"What is your name human?" the frog man asked.

"My name is Adam Lakestone," Adam replied. "What is your name?"

"My name is Buffrog," Buffrog replied. "What is it that you seek?"

"I want to fix my mistake," Adam said. "I want to stop this war that's started because of my actions. I don't want people to get hurt. Human or Fablefolk."

"How do you intend to do that?" Buffrog asked.

"We found out that the Gospel of Glossaryck was written in two versions, that's what started the first conflict," Adam replied. "But we need a witch to translate the notes."

Buffrog didn't say anything at the moment, he thought of what he had just heard. The human had proven that he wasn't a liar and that he wasn't a killer. Buffrog was not going to get involved in this, he had to find his people and help them relocate. But if this human and the other two Fablefolk were going to go poking their nose into this then he had to do something for them. He spotted his sword.

"Pick up your weapon," Buffrog said before grabbing his sword. "The sword you grabbed will do."

"What?" Adam asked.

"You need to learn how to fight," Buffrog said. "You move good with an ax but you need a better weapon. And you need to learn how to fight with it."

Adam did as Buffrog instructed. He grabbed hold of the sword he took from the knight and walked up to Buffrog. He stood in front of the more experienced Fablefolk, feeling the weight of the sword in his hands. He had used and worked on swords for many years but only now did he feel the weight of the weapon. However, he also knew that this was part of the path that he was on.

"We shall start with the beginning positions," Buffrog said standing in front of Adam. "Do as I do."

Buffrog assumed his first combat stance. He lowered his legs and spread them, holding the sword with both hands in front of him, pointed at Adam.

Adam imitated the position that Buffrog had and assumed his own stance.

"The blade of your weapon is an extension of your body," Buffrog said. "And your body is an extension of your eyes."

Buffrog then began to change his stance with Adam following his movements. Going from a defensive position to an attack. The second stand showed the sword striking down and pushing forwards. The third position was once more a defensive movement with spinning the sword upwards with both arms. He then pulled back the sword before doing a circular slash in the air and bringing down another strike.

Adam did all of the movements that Buffrog was showing him and coping them.

"Why are they doing all this stuff?" Star asked. "I let things just happen and do little to nothing. And things always turn out great for me."

"Personally, I can see why they do this," Jackie said, getting Star's attention.

"Why do you say that?" Star asked.

"Humans aren't like us Fablefolk, they may be born with some natural talent or might be better at somethings than others," Jackie recalled. "But they still have to work for everything. This is just one of the many things that they have to learn."

Adam and Buffrog continued on with their lessons as the night went on. They repeated the stances and then proceeded to do some sparring between the two of them.

"Are you sure we shouldn't practice a little more?" Adam asked.

"In real world you only get so much practice before the real deal comes swinging," Buffrog replied. "Now, get ready. First position."

Adam assumed the first position and prepared himself for the spar. He jumped in swinging his sword and clashed blades with Buffrog. Buffrog jumped back before Adam attacked once more. Adam held the sword high hoping that was where the attack would come from but Buffrog surprised him by launching his tongue hitting him in the face. Adam fell on his butt before rolling back to his feet.

"What was that?!" Adam asked, wiping the saliva from his face.

"A real battle is never as predictable as you may think, young man," Buffrog said before resuming his attack. "You must be unpredictable and strategize on the fly. If you wish to survive in this world."

Adam got ready and jumped back into the fight. He went for a horizontal slice only to be blocked by Buffrog's own blade before being pushed back. Adam steadied himself and tried to find a pattern for Buffrog's movements. If he didn't have the same years of experience as Buffrog then he'd have to improvise. Adam rolled to his right avoiding a downwards strike from the experienced fighter before getting back to his feet and charging once more with his sword. But Buffrog jumped out of the way with ease, avoiding Adam's attack. Adam then realized how to defeat or at least get an edge in the battle.

Adam focused on Buffrog's legs and charged once more to fight. He swung his sword low to catch the legs and to force him to continue hopping.

"You're wasting energy with these swings!" Buffrog said as he jumped.

As Buffrog was saying that, Adam took this chance to spin in a circle to strike at Buffrog while in the air.

Buffrog saw the attack and was only barely able to block it, earning a scratch on his chainmail shirt. Surprisingly, Buffrog laughed at the scratch that Adam had been able to inflict despite his short amount of training.

"What-what did you think of that?" Adam panted.

"You did good, young man," Buffrog said, patting Adam in the back. "In a few years, you may become a fierce swordsman."

Adam fell down to the ground exhausted after the day.

"it's been a long day," Jackie said as Star laughed.

* * *

The smoldering remains of the Fablefolk village were being approached by Captain Mina and some of her knights. She jumped off of her horse before spotting the remnants of the fallen knight with the ax still imbedded in its skull.

"So, the milksop has indeed turned traitor to his own kind," Mina said as she tore the ax along with the knight's head. "I knew I smelled a coward in him."

She turned to the other knights and signaled them to get closer.

"Bring the beast here," Mina ordered.

Two knights pulled an metal cage by a pair of chains. Inside of it was a tall green scaly creature with an amethyst stuck in its left eye. The creature was much like a lizard with spikes on its shoulders, sharp claws, and a long tail.

"You have a mission, Rasticore," Mina said with a dark smile on her face. "You should be happy, you won't be skulking in the city sewers waiting for your master. Now you will help us find the key."

Rasticore growled within his cage as Mina walked up to it with the ax in her hand.

"Sniff and lead us to the key," Mina commanded, raising the ax up to Rasticore's nose. "Doctor's orders."

Rasticore sniffed and inhaled the scent on the ax. The reptile creature rattled inside its cage feeling the need to follow the trace.

"Let's make Glossaryck's last commanded," Mina said before the door of the cage was opened and Rasticore jumped out. "Time to hunt."

* * *

The sun had risen in the forest, the leaves of the trees rustled in the wind as the morning mists were being pulled away into the earth. The undergrowth was covered with the morning dew.

After spending the night practicing and learning from Buffrog, the group decided to split off to find Star's friend, Janna.

Adam shook hands with Buffrog.

"Thank you for all the help Buffrog," Adam said. "You sure you don't want to come with us?"

"I'm afraid that I cannot, I must find my people and help them rebuild," Buffrog said. "War will be upon everyone in the land and we must prepare. Whatever path you may take, I wish you good fortune. You two better keep an eye on him."

"Thanks, we'll look out for anything weird or wild," Jackie said.

"Have a nice trip, Buffrog," Star waved.

Buffrog smiled as he turned around and began walking down the other end of the trail.

"May the world and the fates be with you all," Buffrog said waving goodbye to the trio of travelers.

Adam, Jackie and Star waved back before heading towards their next destination. As they walked down the path, Adam looked down to his new sword and held its handle. He could feel that the world was now getting much bigger, but even more dangerous.

* * *

The trio walked through the forest for hours until the sun laid above them as the birds chirped above them. Adam could even feel like nothing could go wrong this day. Jackie had been very observant of her surroundings like a child seeing the forest for the first time, but being careful enough to not step on a flower or an insect. Star was skipping as usual, like nothing was wrong in the world.

As they walked through the woods, little by little the colorful leaves and trees turned black and spooky. The trees appeared to become more and more twisted. The branches resembled clawed hands with leaves sprouting from them to block out the sun. The trunks of the trees had purple and blue colored markings, glyphs, Celtic marks and runes. Mushrooms grew from the ground and the bottom of the trees. Boulders and rocks around the path -that had been carved with faces of different gods and monsters- were covered by moss, and roots from the trees.

Adam couldn't help but feel like they were walking towards the mouth of the wolf. He kept his left hand on the sword's sheath, just in case.

"So, Star, is this the right way?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, calm down already," Star said. "I know the way to my girl Janna's pad like the back of my hand."

"This place sure is creepy cool," Jackie said as she watched a spider capture a butterfly the size of a bat in its web.

"Yeah," Adam added as he saw the butterfly eating the spider. "creepy sure sounds right about this place."

The trio continued to walk with Adam feeling more and more uneasy as the trees blocked the light of the sun.

Jackie looked back and saw how uneasy Adam looked. She remembered something that she read in one of her books. Jackie stepped in front of Adam, startling him.

"Whoa, Jackie, don't-" Adam began only to be cut off by Jackie kissing him on the lips.

The kiss was quick and on the lips, putting Adam in utter shock.

"There, now do you feel better?" Jackie asked.

"Um what was that suppose to be?" Adam asked as a blush crept on his face.

"I read it in one of my books, apparently humans get very brave when someone kisses them on the lips," Jackie said. "So, did it work?"

Adam didn't know how to respond. On one hand, Jackie had tried to get him to help him out. Which was a nice thing. But on the other hand, she had kissed him with no knowledge on what that might mean.

"Um, Jackie, a kiss -like the one you gave me- is often something that happens when two people _like _each other," Adam tried to explain. "In a romantic way. Not saying that it was bad, but it's something that you can't do with just about anyone."

Jackie took in the information and suddenly her eyes grew wide and an embarrassed blush appeared on her face.

"Oh, I am just going to walk ahead then," Jackie turned back and walked to catch up with Star.

Adam wanted to kick himself for making the situation so awkward. He wanted to take back what he said and just try to act cool, but he felt he just couldn't leave it like that.

However, as Adam had his own mental rant, Jackie had a small smile on her face. Even if it wasn't aware of the meaning of the kiss she was happy that Adam was feeling a little better.

They continued to walk until they came upon a house. The house was more like a rundown shack with a black tile roof and a purple wood door, and purple smoke came out from the small chimney. The garden in front of the shack was filled with pumpkins that smelled like bananas.

"This is the place!" Star said pointing to the shack. "Welcome to Janna Banana's Pumpkin House!"

"I have so many questions," Jackie said looking at the shack.

"You and me both, Jackie," Adam added. "You and me both."

"Come on let's go get this bonding cut!" Star said as Adam and Jackie followed behind her.

"You know she's probably going to kill us," Adam said. "Right?"

"Yeah, most likely," Jackie replied sheepishly.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm not a fan of author notes in chapters but I decided to do something for everyone that's read this story so far. Here is a Harem List for all of you that have asked for one.**

**Harem List:**

**Hekapoo**

**Jackie Lynn Thomas**

**Janna**

**Kelly**

**Eclipsa**

**Meteora**

**If you have any suggestions or questions be sure to leave your thoughts in a review. I've considered doing lemons for this story, but I'm not sure about it. Leave a comment telling me if I should put lemons in this story.**

* * *

Inside the shack in the middle of the dark woods, a large cauldron rested on top of a fire. Within the cauldron a purple liquid boiled and bubbled as a sweet scented vapors came out of the mixture. A wooden spoon was plunged into the strange stew and began to stir the contents of the stew with swift spiraling movements.

The spoon was then lifted by a tanned hand up to the cook's mouth. She took a deep in hale of the spoon's contents before swallowing it with ease.

"Mmm, not bad," the woman said with a smile on her face. "This recipe is sure to get a kick out of the girls in the next convention."

The woman stood back up and now had a good looking appearance. She had tanned colored skin, short black hair that sprung upwards at the tips and small fangs on her teeth. She had brown eyes that shun with a mischievous glint to them. She wore a long black dress with open sleeves that resembled wings that hugged her curvy body like a second skin, a green shirt on top of her dress, a pair of black boots and a green hood on top of her head making it look like she was wearing a strange cap.

"Now, if only I had a nice stud to try this out," the woman said with a chuckle. "Sadly none would walk into this forest unless they were drunk or high."

A series of loud knocks on the door caught the woman's attention.

"Huh, wonder who could that be at this hour," the woman said as she headed to answer the call. "I'm coming already! Keep your damn panties in your pants."

The woman opened the door to a blond menace jumping at her face.

"JANNA!" Star screamed as she hugged and jumped above the downed witch now named Janna. "What's up my witch!"

The annoyance left Janna's face as it was replaced with a mischievous smile and laughter.

"Star Butterfly," Janna said as she got back to her feet. "What is the most rebellious and chaotic princess of the Fablefolk doing in my neck of the woods? Wanna party? Or dabble with some dark stuff?"

"Oh, girl you know how to make my bad girl bones ache," Star said. "I'm so down for those things."

"Um, excuse me," a voice called from behind, getting the attention of both Star and Janna.

At the entrance of the house were both Adam and Jackie with slightly confused looks on their faces.

"Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but may we come inside?" Adam asked while doing his best to hide his sword. "It is a little creepy at this time of night."

Janna was slightly taken aback by the appearance of both a mermaid and a human.

"Yeah, sure," Janna said. "Hey, Star who are these two?"

"Oh, long story short, the human and I are bonded against our will and the mermaid is cool hanging out with us," Star attempted to explain.

"You guys ain't vampires, are you?" Janna asked, looking at the two visitors.

"What? No way girl," Jackie replied. "This is all mermaid you're looking at."

"Then come on in," Janna said. "You're just in time for dinner."

"Thank you, my name is Adam Lakestone and this here is Jackielinda Thomas Lynn," Adam introduced himself and his friend.

"Hello there," Jackie said. "You can call me Jackie if you want."

"Nice to meet you," Janna said as she eyed Adam up and down before sensually licking her lips.

Adam stepped back, feeling a little uncomfortable by the way that Janna was looking at him. Part of him wanted to get away from her, but he knew that they needed her help. If she could undo the bonding and then she could read the notes on the two books and find out who wrote the two editions. So, for the time being, he would stay in the odd house and support her undressing him with her eyes.

"We need your help, Ms. Janna," Adam said softly and with great respect. "I hope we are not intruding."

"If you come a knocking, handsome, I won't turn you away," Janna replied as she scratched Adam under his chin. "What can I do for you?"

Jackie pouted at the sight of Janna scratching and flirting with Adam. She was very tempted to drop a bucket of water on the witch when she saw the blush on Adam's face.

"Well, um, you see..." Adam stuttered as he tried to get his head straight.

"This dumb dumb messed up a bonding spell and we need your help breaking it," Star cut him off.

"I messed it up?" Adam snapped at Star.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Star said with a smug face. "Do you think you can fix it, Janna?"

Janna looked up in thought.

"I'm gonna need to see what I'm working with," Janna said.

A smile crept on Adam's face. He wasn't a fan of using the bonding spell, but it was the only way to get Star to listen to him.

"Star Butterfly, tell Janna what really happened and how we got in this situation," Adam commanded before waving his hand. "And be sure to tell the truth."

The red tattoo on Adam's wrist glowed, signaling the command to Star's end.

A red aura enveloped Star, she stiffen before she began to speak.

"After sneaking out of the castle, I arrived at the human city of Echo Creek and attacked priests, knights and civilians alike in rage of them speaking their version of the Godspell of Glossaryck," Star automatically said. "When Adam tried to get me out of the city, he didn't listen to my commands and I used the Super Red Ribbon spell on him. But it bounced and struck me instead."

"Alright, now jump up and down on one leg," Adam commanded before waving his hand.

"You are so dead," Star threatened as she jumped up and down on one leg. "I'll turn you into a toad-squirrel for this."

"You cannot harm me with magic," Adam replied waving his hand. "Now or ever,"

"Damn you," Star groaned, as the bonding bound her to the command.

Adam turned to Janna who was laughing along with Jackie at the commands that he was doing.

"That's basically the situation that we're in." Adam said. "Can you help us with it?"

"Yeah, I think I can do something about your little problem," janna said before walking to her table.

Janna's table was filled with bottled potions, ingredients, small animal bones, candles, and a big black book with a skull on the cover. She opened the book and flipped the pages until she found the illustration of a broken heart. She smiled before she grabbed hold of the different ingredients she needed. Janna placed a bowl in front of herself and then looked at the book.

"Alright, let's dance," Janna said before popping the cork of one of her beakers.

Janna traced a circle in midair, creating a yellow circle and within it there was a laughing skull with two bananas crossing behind it with runes around it. From the magical circle music began playing.

"A spoonful of rosebud dust," Janna said before pouring the rosebud dust into the bowl.

Janna then grabbed hold of a beaker filled with a purple liquid.

"A drop of blood of a three-headed goat," Janna counted as the drop of blood collided with the dust.

A small puff of pink colored smoke came from the bowl before Janna grabbed hold of a green egg the size of her hand.

"A whole lake leviathan egg," Janna said before cracking it and pouring the green yolk into the bowl. "Followed by six seeds of Lover's Passion Fruit."

Janna counted the seeds before dropping them into the bowl. She then began to stir the contents of the bowl with a wooden spoon.

Adam peaked over Janna's shoulder with curiosity, but his sight was slightly covered by Janna's breasts.

"They look better from the front, honey," Janna teased.

"Sorry, I was just curious about the potion you're making," Adam blushed.

"It's cool, you're at that age," Janna said licking her lips. "Now for the spell."

Janna pulled the wooden spoon out of the bowl before she created another magical circle above the bowl.

_"I make a deal, a bind to heart. Now a done deal, make the line part. No thread to claim, now lives free aim," _Janna conjured up as the liquid inside the bowl turned light blue.

Once the spell was casted the music stopped and Janna picked up the bowl and turned to face Adam and Star.

"Alright kids, let's destroy your feelings," Janna said.

"The only feelings that Star has for me are contempt and dislike," Adam replied. "Doubt this'll improve them."

"Or maybe it could make you guys like each other better," Jackie suggested. "Always look on the positive possibilities," She shrugged off while smiling.

"That's more like it, honey," Janna winked at Jackie before turning to Adam and Star. "Alright you two, I need you both to stand in front of one another," She instructed before dipping two fingers into the bowl.

Adam and Star stood in front of each other as Janna stood in-between them.

"Hands with the marks front and center," Janna said and the two young adults did as told.

Janna pulled out her two fingers, covered with the blue slimy concoction. She then spread the potion on the markings on their respective wrists until they were completely covered with the blue potion. Once the marks had been completely covered thy began to shine brightly and then a red thread connected the two marks.

"Wow, that's pretty," Adam said. "So this is magic. It's amazing."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, sweet thing," Janna said. "Now, we will just cut this thing and it'll all be over. Understood?"

"Yes, get it over with!" Star demanded.

Janna stuck her right hand into her left sleeve. She rummaged through the sleeve until she found the thing she was looking for. She pulled out her hand along with a black dagger. The dagger's blade was onyx black, the handle was made out of red colored wood, and a skull on the pummel.

"Alright, take a step back," Janna instructed.

Adam and Star took a step backwards.

"Um, Jackie, you might want to duck," Adam said over his shoulder.

"Thanks, I'll do that," Jackie said before moving behind the couch.

Adam was almost sure that something was going to send him flying backwards. While Star felt like getting this over with as quickly as possible.

Janna lifted the dagger up above her head. The dagger was lit by blue fire.

"1... 2... 3!" Janna said before swinging down the dagger.

The dagger struck the thread, pulling it down unable to cut it. The blue flames around the dagger clashed with the red thread before circling around the point of impact before expanding into a shockwave.

Adam, Janna and Star were sent flying backwards to the floor of the house.

The entire house was as silent as a graveyard for a full minute.

"Welp, that didn't work," Janna groaned as she got out from where she had flown off to.

"Are you guys alright?" Jackie asked before checking on Adam.

"I'll live," Adam said before cracking his neck. "Why didn't the ritual work? I thought you could cut it," He said before getting back to his feet.

"I thought so too," Janna replied. "It would appear that the bonding spell is pretty powerful since it was casted by Star-who is a highly powerful princess of the Fablefolk. Which means that only someone with equal or greater power can break it. Also it appears that it'll keep you guys close by so just moving away won't solve a thing," She explained as she pulled out a wooden cup and poured a hot drink.

"What? I can't get rid of this wet blanket?!" Star asked indignantly. "Dang it."

"The feeling is mutual, princess," Adam replied with displeasure.

"Well, there's another way of breaking the bond, but I wouldn't recommend it," Janna said, scratching her chin.

"There is?" both Adam and Star asked.

Janna looked between each of them, unsure of whether telling them or not. She took a drink from her drink to keep herself lucid and easy to talk.

"Alright, you can break the bond by dying," Janna said. "But it's up to you if you use it or not."

Adam and Star went wide eyes at the sound of the secondary option. The prospect of them getting rid of the bonding did

"Yeah, we'll look for another thing to get this thing off," Adam said before he turned to Janna once more. "Ms. Janna-

"Call me Janna, honey," Janna said before putting her cup down. "No need to be fancy in my house."

"Janna, I know that Star said we needed your help with the bonding, but I'd also ask for your help on something else," Adam said.

A mischievous smile appeared on Janna's face. She walked up to Adam, eyeing him like a cat would a mouse. Her mind began to drift to some very lecherous thoughts. She had been living on her own for some time now, without the company of someone to scratch her itches. Both figurative and literal. If Adam was going to ask her for something, maybe she could ask for something in return. But she had to play it cool.

"What can I do you for?" Janna asked as a blush crept on her face.

Adam reached into his bag and pulled out the two versions of the Gospel of Glossaryck.

"There are notes in these two books, but they are written in a language that only a witch can read," Adam explained, showing Janna the books. "We were hoping that you could translate them,"

Janna's interest was now peaked, but she needed to ask one little question before setting her terms.

"Interesting, but why should I translate the notes?" Janna asked. "For all I know, these are instructions on how to cook witches. What do you gain from all this?"

Adam looked down in slight shame.

"I messed up, big time. I brought Star into the city and chaos ensued," Adam explained. "Now, armies of both man and Fablefolk are reading for battle. War is going to happen, and most of it has been done because of years of lies and manipulation by the people that wrote these books. Maybe we can stop it by finding out why they were made."

Janna was slightly intrigued. This could be something worth looking into. And something that could really entertain herself.

"Tell you what, you guys spend the night here, and I'll use the night to think about it," Janna said. "Deal?"

Adam looked at his companions, after days of sleeping in the forest with an eye open, sleeping inside a house might be a good change of pace. Also with the sound of thunder and rain coming from the outside were good advocates to sleeping inside.

"I think it'll be a good thing for us to rest here tonight," Adam said with Jackie and Star nodding in agreement.

"Alright, that settles it. You'll stay here for the night," Janna said. "Just one more thing."

Janna lifted her hand and drew another circle in the air.

Adam's sword was pulled away from him before it landed on Janna's hand.

"You're my guests here, you won't receive anything bad from me, but you have to abide by my rules," Janna said holding the sword by the scabbard. "That means no weapons for killing in the night."

"Oh, like the Tragedy of McDuncan," Jackie said with a little cheer.

"Yep, so I'll keep this sword until the morning," Janna said. "Now. follow me to your rooms, if you will," She said, causing Adam to stiffen a bit.

"Oh yeah, sleepover!" Star said bouncing after Janna.

Jackie placed a hand on Adam's shoulder, trying to calm him down with a smile.

Adam smiled back before they followed Janna to their rooms for the night.

* * *

Far away from the house where Adam and the others were staying, in the castle of the Butterfly dynasty, Moon Butterfly had gathered her generals in the war room. War was inevitable and she knew it, so they would need to prepare. In the map of the land that laid in the middle of the room, everyone was waiting for Queen Moon's words.

"Our scouts have informed us that the armies of the Children of Man have gathered at the front of the city of Echo Creek while leaving some soldiers to protect the other cities," one of the generals explained.

"Yes, since Echo Creek is the closest settlement to our borders it would be the best place to gather the armies," Moon surmised. "Not to mention it is the headquarters of the cursed Warriors of the Sun."

"We should gather our armies near the border of our territory and face them on a full frontal assault," Another general suggested.

"If we do that it'll be a massacre," Moon shot back. "We'll take them with our ranged weapons, cutting as many as we can while using the forest as cover. Once their numbers are cut back we'll cast illusions to distract them, then we will charge with all our might."

"Huzzah! You heard our Queen Moon, men, prepare your armies! Dwarves, and satyrs in front with me, elves in the middle and ogres and trolls in the back to crush anyone with their muscle," River ordered.

With that said, the generals walked out of the war room to make their preparations.

Moon looked at her husband in search of good news.

"Are there news about Star?" Moon asked.

"Sadly none at the moment, my dear," River replied. "I know that Kelly is closing in but she hasn't get her yet. But you shouldn't worry, our daughter is well prepared and powerful enough to face against any depravity that that human can throw at her."

Moon could only look at her husband with a dried look.

"River, our daughter is a walking catastrophe waiting to happen. She has no respect for the power that she uses and constantly goes after whatever tickles her fancy without much thought," Moon said.

"Oh, honey you're exaggerating. I'm willing to gamble my favorite hunting spear that at this very moment, Star is using magic with the outmost respect," River foolishly tempted fate.

* * *

Back in Janna's house, Star was laying on her back on top of one of the guest beds that Janna had pulled out from the ground like pumpkins, casting spells with the flick of her hand. She created a small flashing explosion in the shape of a kitten's face. She then casted another explosion in the shape of a cupcake, and then grabbed hold of a bag of corn chips, which she began to eat.

"I'm so bored," Star moaned.

"Well, maybe you should sleep," Adam replied while on his own bed. "Not everything is about a crazy adventure after another,"

"Party pooper," Star said before turning to Jackie who was reading a book that Janna had let her burrow. "So, mermaid. What did you used to do for fun before you met me?"

"Um, I mostly read and kept to swimming in the lake," Jackie said. "I was pretty focused on keeping the sword safe, you know how responsibility works."

Star groaned in irritation, which earned a curious look from both Adam and Jackie.

"What's wrong with what I did, I thought it was fun?" Jackie asked.

"No, it's that responsibility pain," Star said. "It takes out all the fun out of everything!"

"Well, it doesn't have to be fun. But we still have to do it," Adam said.

"I know mine wasn't up for debate but I still did it," Jackie shrugged before putting the book away.

"You guys are no fun, life is too short to be wasted in doing stuff like that," Star replied. "I'm a princess and I shouldn't be forced to deal with all that boring stuff. People should do what I told them without a second thought, and bow to my great mighty power."

"Something tells me that if this doesn't work, Star will declare war on someone one day," Jackie whispered to Adam.

"Yeah, scary," Adam replied. "Makes you wonder how there hasn't been an uprise,"

"Hey, what are you whispering about?" Star asked.

"Um, nothing... Go to sleep," Adam commanded with the bond.

Star's eyes quickly shut closed before she fell down and snored on top of her bed.

Adam and Jackie looked at each other as they waited. Wanting to make sure that Star was asleep. They both let out a sigh, relaxing for a minute.

"I probably shouldn't have done that," Adam said, looking at the mark on his wrist.

"It's not like you're telling her to sleep with you or do something against her will," Jackie replied. "Look, I know you're bummed out that the bonding wasn't severed and that we don't have a clear answer from Janna, but look on the bright side she hasn't tried to turn you into her guinea pig," She said as she sat cross legged on her bed.

"I guess, although I'm a bit uncomfortable because... Well, I've never had to share a room with a girl," Adam confessed, which caused Jackie to stifle a laugh. "Don't laugh, the last girl that was in my room kinda made me into a fugitive."

"No, it's just that I can't help it. How come you don't have a girlfriend?" Jackie asked. "You're good looking, brave, honest worker, funny, reliable, and you know how to read and write."

"Thanks, but the reason I don't have a girlfriend is because I've been... busy," Adam replied.

"With what?" Jackie asked.

"Helping my family, as the eldest son, I've been working with a forge ever since I was little. My dad would often tell me that like all Lakestones, "you've got a forge in your heart and a will to match it'," Adam laughed before he looked up out the window. "I wonder if they're ok. Hopefully they didn't get trouble."

Jackie gave him a sympathetic look before kissing his cheek.

"I'm sure that they're alright," Jackie said. "Now, get some shut eye. You'll need it for whatever crazy stuff happens tomorrow,"

Adam smiled at Jackie as he blushed by the kiss.

After their conversation, both Adam and Jackie laid on their respective beds. They closed their eyes and allowed themselves to fall into the arms of Morpheus.

Time passed as all Adam, Jackie and Star all were deeply asleep. They each were having their own pleasant dream that got them away from the troubles of the world. They were sleeping so deeply that none of them heard the door of the room being opened.

Janna entered the room, wearing nothing but her black nightgown. She walked up to Adam before she silently straddles his hips, making sure not to wake him.

"Time to see what you're really thinking, big boy," Janna whispered before tracing another magic circle on top of his head. "Let's have some grown up fun, lover," She said before she kissed Adam's lips.


	8. Chapter 8

Janna found herself inside of Adam's dream. It wasn't that she didn't trust the young child of man, but she had known many witches that were burnt at the stake by not being careful.

Janna looked around and found herself inside of a blacksmith's forge. Her spell allowed her to walk into a person's dream, and it allowed her to feel and sense everything around her. She could smell the smoke of the forge, and feel the heat of the weapons being forged. She spotted Adam working side by side with his father.

"Alright, let's see what dirty little secrets I can dig out of you human," Janna snickered.

Janna walked towards Adam, but he did not react to her presence. She made sure that she was completely invisible to him.

"Adam, I can't thank you enough for giving me a hand with these orders," Jason said.

"It's no problem, dad," Adam replied before pulling the sword out of the fire. "I am a blacksmith as well as a knight. Besides, the city is safe. I won't be needed for a while," He said before he hammered the newly forged sword.

After working on the sword both Adam and Jason were called from the other room. They went to see both Adam's mother and younger brother as they were preparing the table for the meal.

"Aw, how sweet of him, he loves his family," Janna said as she admired Adam's body. "But I'm here for the juicy little secrets."

Janna walked up to the stairs up to the second floor. She went to Adam's room with a smile on her face. She grabbed hold of the door knob and opened it.

"Time to see what you're hiding, I hope it's cool," Janna said before entering the room through the door.

Janna found herself in a room filled with books, which could've been a personal library of some sorts. She reached for one of the books and read what was written on the page. Well, it wasn't so much reading as it was looking back at the memories of Adam's past. She looked through the pages seeing his early days and all the troubles that Adam would get up to. Janna saw in one page how Adam would wear his underwear on his head and wrestle his dad when he was no older than five. She then saw how Adam and his brother would sneak out in the middle of the night to pull pranks on some of the nobles of the city, such as taking some knight's horse and painting it a different color. Janna particularly laughed at the memory of Adam turning red as a tomato when a girl ran up and kissed him in the cheek.

"Well, weren't you a rebel," Janna laughed before flipping the page.

She skipped around from the parts in which Adam was a baby learning how to walk and chew his food to going into the more recent parts of his life.

"As cute as he was as a baby, time to see if what you said was the truth," Janna said as she flipped through the pages.

As Janna flipped through the pages, she spotted something out of the corner of each page, a silhouette of a woman with long hair and horns.

"Ooh, you have a stalker, Adam," Janna said, flipping the page with a smirk. "You surely get around with the ladies. Maybe I'll have some fun with you of the more physical kind."

Janna observed as Adam's memories of the last couple of days appeared before her eyes. She saw how Adam ran into Star three days ago, and how he took her back to his home. She then saw how Adam tried to help Star get out of the city and all the troubles the princess had caused. Janna saw the sadness in his eyes when he was forced to runaway from his home and leaving his family. It tugged at the young witch's heartstrings.

"Aw, now I've got the feelings," Janna whined.

Janna continued looking through the memories, seeing how they met Jackie and the fight with the warriors of the Sun. Tears began to well up in Janna's eyes as disappointment and shame caused her to drop her head down.

"Damn, spell, you always make me feel all this stuff," Janna sniffed before closing the book.

Every page that she flipped through not only showed the memories but also the emotions that the person was feeling. Which meant that she felt exactly like how Adam would've felt every step of the way. She felt the same guilt that he felt, the same anger, same laughter, and the same hope.

"You seem to be telling the truth, and you actually think that this _'quest' _of yours will do something to make a difference," Janna said as she left the room. "I guess I could help you, if only to see your blushing face a little longer,"

* * *

The birds woke up chirping, signaling that it was time to wake up.

Adam slowly opened his eyes, waking up. He expected to see the ceiling of the room and maybe a few rays of sunshine, or maybe seeing the sleeping faces of Jackie and Star. But the one thing he wasn't expecting was seeing Janna's sleeping face on top of his own, kissing him. Adam's eyes grew wide at the sight of Janna giving him a kiss. His face grew warm with the increase of blood circulation through his cheeks. If he could see his own face, he'd believe that his head had been left out in the sun.

_"What is going on?!" _Adam thought to himself.

Janna's eyes fluttered open before breaking the kiss. She gave Adam's red face a chuckle before giving him a mischievous smile. She straddled his hips before placing her left index finger on his lips, silencing him.

"Sshh~, don't worry, I didn't take advantage of you while you slept. So don't worry about it," Janna whispered into Adam's ear. "You don't need to wake the girls up. I'll go prepare some breakfast for us," She whispered before getting out of the bed.

Adam got up and followed Janna as she walked out of the room, swaying her hips almost as if she was tempting Adam's gaze. His eyes went upwards to avoid staring at Janna's ass, but he was instead met with her giving him a smile. At the mischievous look of her eyes, his face turned bright red.

"Hope you enjoyed the little show," Janna said with a snicker before leaving the room.

As soon as the door was closed behind Janna, Adam fell out of bed.

"Ow," Adam groaned in pain. "That little witch, is just horrible."

All the noise had caused, Jackie and Star to wake up.

Jackie let out a yawn before she stretched her arms.

"Man, what a good night's rest," Jackie said before stepping out of her bed. "This bed is so much more comfortable than the stone floor," She said, noticing Adam was on the floor.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Star asked. "If you preferred to sleep on the floor like an animal, you could've just given me your mattress. This bed is good but it's nothing like my usual bedding accommodations."

"I fell out of the bed," Adam said with an irritated twitch on his left eye. "I was slightly startled by a dream I was having. I'm going for a shower," He added before getting back to his feet.

"What happened to ladies first?" Star asked.

"Good point, you can go on ahead," Adam replied. "Although I may end up regretting it."

Star smiled as she skipped past Adam and Jackie towards the bathroom.

* * *

After taking a cold bath, Adam, Jackie and Star returned to the living room where Janna was waiting for them. She sat down in front of her work table now turned into a breakfast table, filled with toast, sausages, scrambled eggs, and a bowl of berries.

"Morning sleepy heads, did you enjoy your night at the grand Janna lodge?" Janna asked.

"I may have one or two complains," Adam mumbled.

"Yeah, the hot water didn't last very long," Star said offhandedly.

"Thank you again for letting us stay here for the night," Jackie said.

"Then sit down guys," Jann said. "It's too much breakfast for me."

All three of them sat down on the table and each grabbed hold of some breakfast.

Jackie watched as Adam ate the scrambled eggs with toast and some sausages, before turning to see Star shoving down the food that she had in her plate. She slowly poked a sausage and took a bite off of it.

"This is amazing...," Jackie said as she tasted the meat.

Jackie then proceeded to eat as much as she could with stars in her eyes. A life eating fish had not prepared her for the taste of a traditional breakfast. She munched down on the contents of her plate while enjoying every bite of the breakfast. As Jackie chewed the food she placed her left hand on her cheek and smiled.

"So good," Jackie mumbled.

"Um, Jackie, what are you doing?" Adam asked with curiosity.

"Isn't this how you tell the food is good?" Jackie asked before swallowing her food.

"That sounds more like how a cheesy anime would show it," Janna said.

"Really? What do you think, Star?" Jackie asked the princess.

Star, however, was a little too busy to answer the mermaid. The princess was swallowing her food like a starving woman, or like a savage animal. She bit into her food, almost taking bites out of the fork and the knife that she used. She then grabbed the mug next to her and chugged the drink down her throat. She let out a satisfied sigh, followed by a burp.

"It could use a little more corn and alcohol in it, but it's good," Star said with a burp, but she was met with slightly disgusted look from Adam's face. "What? Can't a lady have breakfast without getting objectified?"

"Sorry, it's just that... I wasn't expecting you to eat like that," Adam replied.

"Well excuse you Mr. I-eat-with-a-fork, but you've had me at barely any food for days. I was hungry," Star said.

"What?! You've been getting the same portions that I've been getting!" Adam shot back. "If anything we've been eating less because you can't seem to keep back your impulses," He added, trying to remain civil at the table.

"Girls, girls, please you're both pretty. Let's not fight at breakfast," Janna said, calming down her two guests. "Now, I've made a decision regarding your request from last night. I will help you."

This brought excitement to the group, specifically to Adam.

"Are you serious?" Adam asked, unable to hold back his happiness. "You'll translate the notes?"

"Yep, figured you would be lost without my help anyway," Janna said with her trademark smugness. "By the way, you might need this back," She said before giving Adam his sword back.

"Thanks," Adam replied before putting his sword back on his belt.

Adam pulled out the two books and gave them to Janna.

Janna looked over both versions of the book with the outmost care before even opening the book.

"Both of them don't appear to have any form of curse or spells to keep their knowledge hidden, which is a cool way of keeping nosy people from reading stuff they aren't supposed to," Janna said before opening the first book. "Most of these notes are about how the two books were made by the same person and under the same circumstances. Nice handwriting. Very simple and to the point," She said as she read through the notes.

"Yeah, the women of the Butterfly family have the most refined skills of all the Fablefolk," Star boasted. "Writing is only one of the many skills that we've mastered."

"Yeah... Humility is still a little farther away it seems," Adam whispered, earning a chuckle from Jackie.

"Hey!" Star snapped.

"This is getting interesting," Janna said, getting their attention once more. "Some of these sentences are broken or cut. Almost as the ideas are missing from this book," She said before an idea popped in her head. "Oh, you sneaky little minx."

Janna grabbed hold of the second version of the book and flipped the page until both books were on the same page. The notes on each page of the two books when they were put together, fit perfectly to form a message. A smile formed on Janna's face for figuring out how the notes came together. Celena's notes were not only written on a language that was hard to understand but they were also broken up so that it would be useless to translate one book without the other.

"I think I've got it," Janna said with a smile as she flipped page after page on both books, before she narrowed her eyes. "Very interesting indeed."

"What does it say?" Adam asked, feeling the tension rising.

"Hear this out, you may want to listen to this part," Janna said before she began reading out loud. _" 'My name is Celena Butterfly, and what I'm about to tell you-whoever is reading-is a story that may go against everything you've been told your whole life. But you must believe me, I am not mad This is my final statement and secret I'll tell to the world, for I fear that my end is upon me.'_

_"I've spent my life looking for secrets and I regret to say that I've found the biggest one. I am able to hear the earth. That is to say I hear the silent language that the world speaks. How I came upon this gift is too complicated to explain. All that's important is that you know that I know what the voice told me. It told me of how the ancient king Oberon vanquished a great evil from our world. A god of chaos that set upon wreaking havoc our home with his children by his side, he set both sides against one another in order to bring to swallow our reality. But with the aid of his allies and the betrayal of one of the god's children was Oberon able to banish him._

_"Although this has not stopped the god of chaos from attempting his return. The voice tells me that he still seeks to return and enslave the world. Like a growing horror scratching at the door the voice gets more and more frightened. I've found out that the god needs two beings to enter our reality once more: A door, and A key. Both of noble blood. One the meteor and one of the star. Brought together in a place where the heart of darkness dwells._

_"But there is a way to stop all this. You must travel to the resting place of the original Gospel of Glossaryk, the Evil Eye Sanctuary in the north, and destroy it. For it is through it and its copies the god is influencing the people. I can hear the god's followers coming, they'll do anything for a war to happen. I leave this now in hopes you can do what I wasn't able to,_

_-Celena 'The Shy' Butterfly' "_

Adam and the rest of the group were silent, taking in the information that they had just heard. A god of chaos had been using the book to turn people against one another. Like puppets on their strings.

Adam was confused and angry at the same time. If what the notes were saying were true then all the troubles he and his family had been put through was the fault of something else. But it didn't change that he still had to do something to stop the war.

"Wow, that's a lot to take in," Jackie said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"You're telling me," Janna replied. "This has crazy conspiracy written all over it," She said before putting down the book and covering her face with her hands.

"But it doesn't change the fact that we have to do something," Adam mumbled under his breath.

"Who said we have to do something?" Star asked, earning looks from everyone else. "These notes don't say that we have to do anything. We should just get this stupid bonding thing cut and be done with it," She said as she looked at her nails.

"What? Are you kidding me?" Adam asked. "This just told us that there's a god wanting to destroy our world and the war that's about to begin because of us is its ticket in... And you're saying that you're more interested in getting the bonding severed than helping?" He asked.

"Yep, that's about right," Star replied with a stupid grin on her face clearly saying 'I don't care'.

Jackie and Janna could clearly see that Adam was about to strangle the princess. His face twisted into a frown, and gritted his teeth in anger.

"How can you be so responsible to the point of being a pain in the neck and then be a complete brat?!" Adam demanded, holding himself from strangling Star.

"I'm a teenager, teenagers are dumb," Star replied without a care.

"You're eight-teen woman! You have to take responsibility for something in your life!" Adam grunted angrily.

"No I don't!" Star said standing up to face Adam at eye level. "And you should stop holding that on me!"

"Kinda hard when keep doing nothing worth to pull your weight," Adam snapped back.

Jackie and Janna looked at each other and silently agreed that it was time to split them up. They stood between both Adam and Star, pushing them away from one another.

"Hey, come on Adam, let's take a breath," Jackie suggested, while giving Adam a pleading look.

Adam let out a sigh and walked away, followed by Jackie.

"Yo, Star, wanna see my latest brew for _summoning spirits_?" Janna asked, using her special code phrase. "I'm pretty sure it explodes like a shot."

"Heck yeah girl!" Star said before running to the back of the house with Janna.

* * *

Outside the house, Adam was pacing back and forth, trying to calm himself as Jackie watched over him.

"Who does that brat think she is to not take this seriously?" Adam mumbled. "There's a war coming closer and a dark elder god is trying to use it to come into our dimension and she acts like it doesn't matter."

"Adam, listen," Jackie said, getting his attention. "I know Star is difficult to deal with, but you can't be too hard on her. We've only known her for what a week tops?"

Adam took a moment to collect his thoughts, and allowed Jackie's words to make sense. He needed to let the princess come to terms her own way, but the girl always seemed to rub him the wrong way. She was entitled and was full of her own power, everything that he disliked. He grew up with hard work as a form of structure, and to see someone look down on that made his blood boil. But he had to at least give Star a chance. Adam knew that it would be hard but he needed to at least try to make bridges with Star instead of burning them.

"You're right," Adam sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on her. She does make me want to wring her little neck from time to time."

"No one said you couldn't feel that way, but we need her," Jackie said. "She could help us stop her mom from raising hell, and maybe if she's happy for us bringing her daughter back in one piece, she'll reward us handsomely."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind a reward or two after. It's so weird, when she was in my bed she looked like an angel you'd have thought of her behaving like a wild animal," Adam said.

Unbeknownst to the two friends, a third party was hearing everything that was being said.

Amongst the green foliage of the forest, a caramel skinned huntress had followed the trail that her master's daughter left behind. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the human and his word. She did not hold any particular love for her master's child, but she was on a mission and would bring Star Butterfly home.

Kelly lowered her stance, crouching down before closing her eyes. Her long green hair spread through the rest of her body until it became a thick coat of green fur. Her nails grew long and sharp, followed shortly after by her fangs. A growl rumbled inside her throat before coming out of her mouth. Her eyes snapped open, now turned bright yellow.

Back with Adam and Jackie, he had calmed down enough to go back inside.

"Come on, let's go inside. I feel like having a second breakfast," Jackie said with a little flirt behind her words.

"I guess... I could use some more food myself," Adam agreed.

They both turned to go back to the house, when suddenly a twig was snapped.

Adam stopped himself before turning around. He looked for the source of the snapping twig, he'd heard enough stories to know that if a twig snaps and if it all goes quiet then something bad is about to happen. He scanned the forest for anything to pop out and try to attack him and Jackie. Adam grabbed hold of his sword's handle and readied himself.

But nothing came out.

"Maybe I've listened to a little too many stories," Adam said to himself.

Just then, Kelly jumped out from the bushes in her beastly form.


	9. Chapter 9

With a savage roar, Kelly tackled Adam before he could pull out his sword to defend himself. Her tackle sent them both away from the front door and rolling down a nearby hill.

They rolled down the hill with both struggling against one another.

"ADAM!" Jackie screamed as Adam and Kelly rolled down the hill.

Adam punched at Kelly's face, feeling as though he was punching a tree with his bare hands. He then pushed away from her but she held on to him like a tick. Adam could feel the claws digging into his skin through his clothes. He cried in pain before kicking the creature in the stomach, getting some distance between them. But that didn't stop Kelly from grabbing hold of his leg and pulling him back towards her before they landed at the bottom of the hill.

She pinned him to the ground with her great strength before roaring once more on his face. She held him by the arms with her razor sharp claws, preventing him from grabbing anything to be used as a weapon.

"Get off me!" Adam demanded, struggling before Kelly let out another roar.

Adam winced at the sight of her fangs so close to his face. He struggled against the creature's strength, but to no avail. He kicked at her with his feet but it merely inconvenienced his attacker. Kelly tried to bite at Adam's throat but he managed to dodge her teeth at the nick of time by moving his head to the right. She tried once more but he moved to the left avoiding the attack once more. As Kelly prepared to kill Adam with a third bite, he moved his knee right between her legs and landed a blow, knocking the air out of her.

"Hey, this isn't a bar fight!" Kelly growled, surprising Adam by the feminine voice out of the creature.

"You're a girl?!" Adam asked surprised.

"Of course I am!" Kelly replied, loosening her grip on Adam.

Adam took this chance and quickly slipped his hand from her grasp and went for his sword. He grabbed the sword by the scabbard and then smacked Kelly in the face. The iron of the sword's butt struck Kelly, she felt like a burning stick had poked her and recoiled away in pain. This allowed Adam to make his move. He rolled her off of him. He jumped back to his feet and stepped away from the creature. They were now on a small clearing surrounded by trees with purple colored flowers sprouting from the tips of their branches.

"You'll pay for that, human," Kelly snarled as she stood back up.

"I don't know why you want me dead, but I'll fight you if I have to," Adam said, unsheathing his sword.

Kelly growled before she began slowly circling Adam.

Adam held his sword with both hands and slowly began circling Kelly. Just as she was doing to him.

Neither took their eyes off of each other. The only sound that could be heard between them was the rustling of the grass under their feet. Adam felt his sweat trailing down the back of his neck. It was his first battle against a Fablefolk that wanted to kill him. If he wasn't careful this could very well be his final battle. He remembered Buffrog's lessons. He loosened his grip slightly and took in deep breaths to calm himself.

This was not missed by Kelly's trained hunter eyes.

"Is this your first real battle?" Kelly asked.

"N-No, but it is the first time I've fought on my own without any foreseeable help," Adam replied, doing his best to keep his voice from cracking.

"Before I tear you apart, I'll give you a bit of friendly advice," Kelly said. "Do not let your back touch the ground."

"Um... Thank you," Adam replied, holding his focus strong. "I guess,"

"Good, now I can kill you without feeling like I picked an easy target," Kelly added.

Adam could only guess that this was once more the universe making a joke at his expense. He pushed back those thoughts before they both got serious once more. They were going to fight each other and there was no way around it.

The area where they both were standing became quiet. The critters and birds hid themselves as to not get involved in the battle.

Adam and Kelly stopped circling each other, just as one flower at the top of a tree broke from it. Adam kept his sword at the ready while Kelly softly growled.

The flower fell down to the grass covered ground.

Adam and Kelly charged at each other. Adam held his sword up as Kelly roared. Their legs brought them ever closer before they clashed.

* * *

Back at Janna's house, Star and Janna were drinking out of Janna's special brewing caldron.

"Now this is the good stuff, Janna," Star said before hiccuping.

"What I tell you, berries and honey make a good mead when mixed in with dragon alcohol," Janna laughed.

Yep, they were getting completely hammered with Janna's special homemade alcoholic brew.

"I should sneak this into the castle more often," Star added, burping. "I could use it when my mom is trying to lecture me on boring stuff. 'Pay attention, Star.' "

The two girls laughed before they were both getting a little tipsy from all the drinking.

"You know- I-I'm starting to think that this batch is a little stronger than I previously thought," Janna said.

"What makes you say that?" Star asked before the door was slammed open.

Jackie entered the room with great haste.

"Girls! A green furry monster just attacked Adam! He needs help!" Jackie told the other two girls.

"What? Hold on, let me sober up," Janna said before tracing another magical circle above her.

"Yeah, me too," Star said before a pink aura enveloped her.

The circle phased down through Janna, accelerating the sobering up porcess. As soon as the circle and the Star's pink aura disappeared, they both felt like their heads had just been used like a drum. Janna rubbed her temples before looking at Jackie, while Star tasted a horrible aftertaste in her mouth. The spells allowed them to sober up, but the effects of a hangover were still present and were much more painful given the acceleration.

"Alright, we're sober, what's this about again?" Star asked, while in some slight hangover pain.

"Adam needs help!" Jackie said, shaking Star by the shoulders. "A large green furry monster attacked him!"

"I'm sure he's fine," Star said nonchalantly. "He's a tough guy, right?"

Jackie and Janna looked at Star with confusion.

"Maybe we should go get a look," Janna said, sounding a little worried for the young man and his immediate safety.

All three girls rushed out, in hopes of saving their friend and companion.

* * *

Back with Adam, he was still fighting against Kelly. He held up his sword in defense, but she moved far faster than what he could counter. He panted as he looked for the next attack before rising the sword as Kelly slashed at him with her claws. He managed to block the sharp claws, but almost got the sword knocked out of his hands. He was covered with cuts on his body and his clothes. Adam looked back before swinging the sword to where Kelly was standing. She jumped back nicking Adam in the forehead, making him bleed. He let out a battle cry before charging at Kelly, swinging his sword.

As Adam fought against the large furry creature, he could feel his heart beating against his chest. He was afraid that it would pop out of his chest if this continued. But he pushed on his attacks.

Kelly dodged the attacks, before swiping at Adam's left shoulder. Her claws dug into his skin and drew blood from his wounds.

Adam screamed in pain before holding his wound with his left hand. He forced his eyes open and glared at the creature. He felt the warm liquid stain his hand before grabbing hold of the sword with both hands once more.

"You can end this, you know? All you've got to do is free the princess," Kelly said as Adam panted. "Her father just wants her to be back home safely."

"Believe me I would love to, but I'm a little tied to her at the moment," Adam replied holding his sword.

"The armies of the Fablefolk are already on the move. People will die," Kelly said. "You want that in your conscience?" She asked.

"There won't be a war. Not if I've got something to say about it. I'll stop it," Adam replied, ready for another round.

Kelly couldn't help but salute the human's bravado. He was not backing down against her. She decided that it would be best if she ended this fight quickly, to then focus on ending her task. Kelly growled, deciding to give this human a warrior's death. She charged at him with her claws ready to dig into the human's flesh.

As Kelly pounced at Adam, he decided to meet her in the middle. He ran as fast as he could before ducking under the swipe of Kelly's claws. He spun on his feet, swinging the sword in a circular motion.

Kelly jumped back with only a small cut on her right side. She felt the burning of the iron sword's properties pulse around the wound. She held her side, growling at Adam. But found that he was no longer in front of her. She sniffed the air for the scent of Adam's blood. She followed the scent only to realize that her opponent was behind her.

Adam emerged from the dark woods, bringing down his sword against Kelly. But she managed to jump away before being sliced by Adam's blade.

Kelly swiped her claws at Adam's sword, knocking it away from his hands. She grabbed hold of his neck before slamming him against the ground.

Adam struggled against the grip she had on his neck.

"You fought bravely, human. But this ends here," Kelly said as she pulled back her left hand, ready to strike.

"Kelly? Is that you?" a voice caught the attention of both Adam and Kelly.

Kelly turned around to see Star, Jackie and Janna running towards her.

"Princess, your father sent me to rescue you," Kelly replied. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Star said. "Nothing can stop this princess."

Jackie cleared her throat, reminding Star of the situation.

"Oh, right," Star remembered. "Please let go of Adam. He's harmless."

Kelly did as Star told her and Adam stood back up coughing.

"Wait, your name is Kelly?" Adam asked as he got his breath back.

Kelly's fur pull back into her body, leaving her with her normal humanoid appearance.

"Yes, I am Kelly. One of the Lord of the Hunt's hounds," Kelly introduced herself before turning to Star. "Princess, please tell me what happened, and why would you want to spare this human's life?"

Adam looked at Star, wondering what she would say. He wouldn't say that he wasn't the least bit concerned, since their last conversation wasn't the best one. One word from Star and Adam would be food for this hound.

"He's not as bad as he looks, besides I bet he'll treat me better and with more respect from now on," Star said with just a hint of smugness. "Right?" She asked looking at Adam.

"I won't grovel if that's what you're expecting. Besides, we're in this mess because of something we both did," Adam said. But, thank you... For helping me," He added.

"It's a start," Star said just as Jackie walked over to help Adam stand.

Janna stepped next to Adam and traced another magical circle next to his wounded shoulder. The wound slowly healed itself.

"You really got your butt handed to you," Janna said to Adam.

"Not the best way I've started the morning I'll admit," Adam replied as the wounds healed.

Back with Kelly and Star, she was explaining her father's hound what had happened. She started with how she escaped from her castle, and then explained how Adam got her out of the city. To say that Kelly was surprised, was a clear understatement.

"So yeah, that's the story," Star said. "A pretty wild ride so far, right?"

Kelly was speechless before walking away from Star and towards Adam.

"Um, can I help you?" Adam asked, as Janna finished with the healing.

Kelly remained silent until Adam was fully healed.

"Look, I'm sorry for attacking you. I thought you had kidnapped the princess," Kelly sincerely apologized.

"I can see why you'd think that," Adam said. "But thanks for not tearing out my throat, I guess?"

"You're welcomes. I must also thank you for keeping the princess safe up until now," Kelly added. "But I must bring her back to the Butterfly castle. Her parents are very worried. Plus I don't want her getting more people into trouble," She whispered the last part.

"Hey!" Star snapped at hearing that.

"Listen, Kelly, if it's not too much to ask, could you please take us to the King and Queen?" Adam asked.

This surprised not just Kelly but also Jackie and Janna. No human had ever willingly gone to Butterfly castle or lived to tell about it. For a human to ask for such a thing, it could be suicidal.

Adam wasn't even sure of what he was asking. According to many legends that he'd hear about the rulers of the Fablefolk, they would drain the blood out of human bodies and feed the remains to trolls or some other monster.

"You are aware that Queen Moon believes that you kidnapped her daughter, right?" Kelly asked. "And the Lord of the Hunt, King River, asked me to murder you. Going there would be signing your own execution," She explained, hoping to learn more of the young man's intentions.

"I have reason to believe that both humans and Fablefolk have been manipulated by a third party," Adam said. "I think that if we show her what we've learned then we can prevent a conflict between both sides."

Kelly raised an eyebrow at the young man's explanation.

"What are you talking about?" Kelly asked, unsure of what she had just correctly heard.

Just as Adam was about to explain the situation to Kelly, a low growl caught their attention. They turned towards the origin of the growl.

Adam grabbed hold of his sword once more, reading himself for another fight. He did hope to be able to defeat this new dangerous threat.

From amidst the dark bushes and the trees, a large reptilian creature with a gem in its left eye jumped out roaring at the group. This was Rasticore, and he was looking for blood. It swiped at Adam, sending him to the ground before from the very forest Warriors of the Sun came out with weapons drawn.

Adam quickly got back up, just in time to block an attack with his sword. He pushed back his attacker with a kick to the stomach before slashing at another knight as he charged against his friends.

"Princess, get out of here!" Kelly called out, as her eyes turned bright yellow.

Kelly turned back into her large beastial form and tackled Rasticore away from the group. She then grabbed hold of one of the knights before throwing him against an incoming group, knocking them down like bowling pins.

"You heard the fur ball, Star," Janna said before letting out a loud whistle.

* * *

Back in Janna's house, a black broomstick with green straw tips shot out through the front door and flew directly towards Janna.

* * *

Janna caught hold of the broom before spinning it and then sitting on it. The witch flew quickly through the group of knights, knocking them off with her speed alone. She shot out towards Star and pulled her on top of the flying broom.

"Come on, we can fight them!" Star said, trying to get off the broom.

Jackie ducked under the swing of a sword before kicking the knight where the sun don't shine. She grabbed hold of the knight's daggers, feeling the sting of the iron before pocketing them on her belt. She spotted Janna flying towards her on her broom. Jackie grabbed hold one of the spears of the fallen soldiers. She grabbed hold of it and used it to jump onto the broom.

"We need to get Adam and then get out of here!" Jackie said as Janna kept them out of the knights' reach.

"Does this look like a chariot? Or something that can carry multiple people?" Janna asked while trying to keep the broom flying.

Some of the knights pulled out their crossbows and fired at the three girls.

Janna flew high before using her magic to create a shield.

"We should be safe now," Janna said.

"But what about Adam and Kelly?" Jackie asked.

Adam and Kelly were battling against the remaining knights. They were keeping them back as best as they could with Adam blocking the iron weapons, and Kelly knocking the knights away.

"We may just survive this," Adam said before slicing the back of one of the knights.

"Why are the Warriors of the Sun attacking you?" Kelly asked, before Rasticore tackled her to the ground.

"Kelly!" Adam called out just as he was about to try to get Rasticore off of her.

"Welly well, well! The traitor knows these monsters by name!" an annoying voice called out to Adam.

Adam recognized the whinny voice all too well.

Adam turned to face the origin of the annoying voice. He saw that in front of him was the captain of the Warriors of the Sun, Mina Loveberry. She stood proud, with a maniacal smile on her face and a vicious look in her eyes.

Adam kept his sword up, ready to fight.

"You seem to be getting rather cozy with them, traitor," Mina said with evil grin on her face.

"Captain Loveberry, we don't need to fight," Adam said. "We've been deceived by the ones that created the Gospel of Glossaryck. Both us and the Fablefolk don't need to fight."

Mina Loveberry only laughed at Adam's words.

"You really expect me to believe that the book, written by Glossaryck the Mad Monk, is a farce? It is the truth that we must follow, us the Children of Man are destined to wipe out all our enemies and all those that represent a threat to our pure bloodline," Mina spoke like a dictator to a crowd. "And any who stand against our destiny shall be eliminated. We shall bring for a great power to rise to what we deserve!" She continued, as the madness in her voice grew more apparent.

Adam narrowed his eyes. He realized that the captain would not listen to reason.

"And that includes you, traitor!" Mina said as she unsheathed her sword.

Mina held a long iron double-edged sword with a crescent moon guard and a ruby on the pommel. She smiled ready to strike anyone or anything that got in her way. And sadly that was Adam Lakestone. Mina charged at Adam, swinging her sword.

Adam held his sword high, parrying the attack. He managed to block the attack right on time, but the sheer force of the attack sent him backwards and almost made him lose his grip. Adam rolled on the ground to a halt. He stood up panting, not moving his sight from Mina as she held that maniacal smile on her face. He was surprised by the strength that the seemingly skinny captain had.

Mina jumped at Adam with her sword drawn, ready to strike once more. He rolled out of the way, but the strike of the blade sent a shockwave that sent Adam further away.

"You're not human," Adam panted, pulling himself up with his sword. "You're crazy."

"This is the strength that our righteousness has granted me," Mina replied with a crazed look in her eyes. "Now prepare to die, doctor's orders!"

Adam jumped out of the way of the incoming blade. He spotted Kelly, trying to wrestle Rasticore off of her. He turned back to see Mina laughing as she turned to him. Adam knew that he wouldn't survive a direct attack from Mina, but he could at least help Kelly out.

Adam ran towards Kelly as fast as he could, but all his speed was nothing to Mina.

Mina jumped high in the air, and then crashed on top of Adam. She tackled him to the ground, knocking the air out of him. He coughed as Mina laughed on top of him. He glared at her the best he could as she began talking.

"Traitors and scum like you deserve to die," Mina laughed, as Adam tried to get air back in his lunges. "Besides, no matter what nonsense you say about people being fooled, it won't change a thing. War will cleanse the world from the weak and the strong shall remain. And if that sounds or makes me crazy... Then I'm coo coo coo coo," She monologued, lifting her sword.

Adam's eyes went wide. He tried to move out of the way, but he was paralyzed by fear.

* * *

Not far from the battle, Hekapoo observed the confrontation.

"Adam, I've seen you grow all these years, hoping that I could spare you this fate. But now you've set foot on your path, a path that'll make you suffer but that will see you through. Sadly, today you're outmatched. Damn it, I've got to do something," Hekapoo said. "Am I allowed to interfere? So soon?" She asked, awaiting the response from the fates.

Hekapoo heard a whisper come into her ear.

_"Yes~"_

Hekapoo narrowed her eyes in determination. She jumped out from her hiding spot and pulled out a pair of daggers from thin air.

"If my sacrifice is needed, then I shall meet my fate knowing that you are in good hands," Hekapoo said, running to the battlefield.

* * *

Adam stared down at the sword-wielding madwoman, hoping to last in this battle of wills at least a little longer. He could feel his heart beating fast and every part of his brain telling him to run.

"Any pitiful last words before I chop your head off, traitor?" Mina asked, her maniacal glare never leaving her face.

"I don't suppose you'll let me die on my feet, now will you?" Adam asked, as he struggled to his feet.

Mina took a moment to think about it. Adam could even swear that he heard the bag of cats that Mina called a brain, was making an effort to come up with a coherent thought.

"Nope, you're no knight, so you don't deserve that," Mina replied.

"That title is wasted on you nonetheless," Adam spat, gripping his sword's handle for dear life.

That last comment, struck a nerve on the crazed woman. The already crazy look on her face twisted in rage.

"Why you!" Mina screamed as her face turned red with vivid rage.

Just as Mina was about to bring down her sword, a blast of fire knocked her back with a mighty blast.

Adam was shocked at sudden appearance of the strange fire. He then saw how the flames spread towards the rest of the knights, knocking them away and forcing them to run for their lives. He used this chance to get up and aid Kelly. Adam rushed against the large monstrous lizard that was holding down his former attacker. He swung his sword against Rasticore, cutting the monster's face. As the creature roared in pain, Kelly used this chance to kick the reptile off of her.

"Well that was humiliating," Kelly said getting back to her feet.

"I've had worse in recent days," Adam said pulling Kelly away from the spreading fire.

"Where did the fire come from anyway?" Kelly asked.

As if to answer her question, the form of Hekapoo came out from the flame with her daggers in her hands. She rolled her shoulders and let out a sigh.

"I missed cutting loose in battle," Hekapoo sighed, catching the attention of Adam and Kelly. "Adam, you're outmatched here, you must leave before things get harsher."

"Wait, Hekapoo what are you talking about?" Adam asked before a mad scream caught their attention.

They turned around and saw a furious Mina Loveberry, getting back from the ground.

"You will pay for your interference Flame whore!" Mina screamed, pulling out a purple crystal from her cloak. "Rhombulous, deal with these fools who dare get in our way!" She said before a snake came out of the crystal.

The snake grew and split into a large scaly body. The creature had snake heads for hands and clawed feet, and where the head would be a large crystal head appeared with a reptilian eye inside it. The creature hissed at the three people in front of it.

"Oh great, it's you," Hekapoo sighed, pushing Adam and Kelly back.

"Hekapoo, I'll crystallize you for betraying us all those centuries ago," Rhombulous hissed.

"Yeah, we did war long ago little bro and I always beat you," Hekapoo challenged. "Let's do some more warring, shall we."

"Hekapoo, what is going on?" Adam asked.

"Your battle is lost, Adam. Go after the book, destroy it if you can!" Hekapoo said as she jumped at Rhombuouls and kicked him in the face. "I promise you this Adam, if you survive we will meet again and you'll get to see me in my full glory!" She cried out as she and Rhombulous battled.

Adam wanted to run and help Hekapoo, but Kelly grabbed him from the back of his jacket and pulled him back. She pulled him away from the battle and the fire. They ran into the forest, as fast as they could.

"Hey guys!" Janna called up from the air.

Both Adam and Kelly looked up to see Janna, Jackie and Star flying above them on Janna's broom.

"You need a lift?" Janna asked.

Adam looked at Kelly before they nodded.

"Yeah, to the Evil Eye Monastery," Adam replied, before Janna flew towards them.


	10. Chapter 10

Adam, Kelly and the rest of the group were all flying on top of Janna's broom. After the battle with Mina and her knights, they had flown northward to put as much distance between them. As quickly as possible. Janna was at the back of the broom, flying it to the best of her ability. Star was right in front of her, making it a little harder to see. Jackie and Kelly were hugging onto both each other and Adam. And Adam was at the very tip, struggling not to look down or unclench his legs. He really did not like being this high in the air.

They had managed to get out of the forest and were closing in to the large mountain pass of the north. However, given their transportation method, they were currently grabbing hold to dear life and plummeting down to earth.

"This was a horrible idea!" Adam screamed as he tried not to fall down.

"I hate flying!" Kelly screamed as she hugged Jackie and Adam for dear life.

"This never happened on the lake!" Jackie cried out in excitement and slight terror.

"WOOOOOO HOOOOOO! I feel so alive!" Star shouted, weirdly enjoying the experience of flying uncontrollably.

"Would you guys quit moving so much?! I'm trying to bring it in for a landing," Janna said calmly.

Janna looked down to a large open field with lots of bushes. She aimed the broom downwards, letting gravity take hold and go straight down. All her passengers screamed at the sight of the ground before them.

The ground came ever closer and the group was wondering if they should jump and take their chances or crash as was Janna's plan.

Just as they were were about to crash, Janna pulled up, halting the crash. This move helped stop the inevitable crash, but it also sent the otherfour passenger out and into the ground.

"Now that's how you land a broom," Janna said before getting off the broom. "Everyone okay?"

Adam and the rest groaned in pain as they slowly got back up. Star however, jumped in excitement.

"That was awesome! Let's do it again!" Star cried out like a an adrenaline junkie wanting another hit. "I wanna drive next!"

Adam, Jackie and Kelly glared at Star, making the message clear: 'There would be no next time.'

"Sorry, Star, but only I get to drive this bad girl," Janna replied, knowing that Star would destroy her broom.

"Alright, I can work with that," Star said, shrugging off her reckless behavior.

Adam, Jackie and Kelly got back to their feet and let out a tiered sigh each.

"Is she aware that we could've died?" Adam asked.

"The princess has a way of... um, shrugging off any form of moral and higher thinking aside from basic impulses," Kelly whispered. "Not to mention that she has a few mommy issues." She added.

"Well, that's just great," Adam groaned.

"Oh no, Janna, your house. We left it unguarded," Jackie realized.

Janna just shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. I never leave my pad without a little protection," Janna said, hanging her broomstick over her shoulder. "If I go out then the house hides until I return. So, can I ask where we're going now?" She asked the rest of the group.

Adam looked down to his sheathed sword before grabbing hold of the handle. All his life he'd want to go out on an adventure, now he was on one that could decide the fate of all those he cared about. To top it off, the only person that could've given him any answers had sacrificed herself to help them escape. He didn't want that responsibility, but he had to cope with it.

"I'm going to the Monastery, if there's answers there, I'm going to find them," Adam answered. "You are free to do whatever you like. You don't need to follow me," He added.

"I'm going with you, you'll most likely die without some back up," Janna said surprising everyone.

"Are you sure about this, Janna?" Adam asked.

"Yep, I guess you could say that I've grown fond of you," Janna said, walking next to Adam.

"I'm also going, I've wanted to travel for so long and I'm not backing down because of some knights," Jackie said before joining Adam and Janna.

Adam smiled as a warm feeling cheered him up. Having friends by his side would make the trip a lot easier than what he thought before.

"I should take the princess back to the castle, her parents must be worried about her," Kelly replied. "I'll try to clear things up as best as I can."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Star said, taking Kelly out of her thought train.

"Wait what?" Kelly asked incredulously. "Princess, I don't think you heard me the first time, but there is a war that'll be starting rather soon. And your father, the Lord of the Hunt, gave me specific instructions to take you home. Before the bloodshed starts, if possible."

"Yeah, just so that my mom can give me a stern I told you so talk! I am so not going through that, besides my aunt and cousin said that they were visiting this place," Star said. "Sounds a lot better than being grounded."

Kelly's eyes widen at Star's words.

"Your aunt, Queen Eclipsa of the Dark Forest, and your cousin, Princess Meteora?" Kelly asked.

"Yep," Star replied.

"The same ones who have been missing for two years?" Kelly added. "And the same ones that your mother has been looking for?"

"And you've known where she has been all this time!?" Kelly asked with her eyes glowing bright yellow.

"Yes, how many times do I have to say it," Star said, loosing her temper, but not knowing or caring that Kelly was getting angrier and angrier.

"Those are the very same ones," Star said, much to the confusion of both Adam and Jackie.

Adam and Jackie walked next to Janna as Kelly looked like she was about to kill Star.

"What's going on?" Adam asked the young witch.

"Queen Eclipsa is the cousin of Star's mom and is the second great ruler of the Fablefolk, but she isn't into the whole ruling thing. Her daughter is Meteora and she's known as the Monster Princess thanks to her father's side of the family," Janna whispered back. "After the death of Eclipsa's husband, she pulled away from the royal and political spotlight and took her daughter before she disappeared a year ago. Some Fablafolk say that she went on to discover the secrets of magic and live in the wilderness. Though no one knew where she was, until now," She explained in whispers.

"And Star never told anyone about this?" Jackie asked.

"Looks like it," Janna replied as she pointed to a groaning Kelly.

"So, let's get going already!" Star said as she walked towards the path.

Adam, Jackie, and Janna could only stare in confusion as Star walked ahead of them. They also looked at Kelly-who was slumped down-having given up and was following behind Star. They could overhear some mumbling of curses coming from Kelly as she walked past them.

"So... I guess... they'll be coming with us?" Adam suggested with confusion in his voice.

"Yep," Both Jackie and Janna replied in unison.

They stood in silence as the events that had occurred before them sunk in.

"We should go to them before Kelly murders Star," Janna said.

"Right," Adam said as they walked after Star and Kelly, hoping that the Fablefolk hound wouldn't kill the blonde pain in the neck.

* * *

The group caught up to Star and Kelly before any murder could take place. They walked down the trail through the mountains as the rocky formations rose on their right. The mountains were brown and grayish with different layers of earth. Up on the higher levels, trees sprouted from the mountain wall. The worn out path was completely bare and only a few specs of grass sprout from the ground. Strong winds struck the group as they hiked up the path, but as soon as the wind hit their faces a chilling feeling ran down their spines.

"Is it just me or is it getting colder," Jackie asked, shivering slightly.

"That's probably do to the elevation," Kelly explained. "This path is known to have pretty strong winds as well."

"Yeah, not to mention that you can see some snow at the top of some mountains," Adam said pointing to one one of the tops ahead of them.

"Wow, that's snow," Jackie called out. "Weird, I thought it was yellow."

"Why would you think snow would be yellow?" Adam asked the mermaid.

"In one of the books I read, a character said that 'he would never eat yellow snow.' No idea why though," Jackie said.

"Um-" Adam was about to answer.

"I got this one," Janna said before whispering something to Jackie.

Jackie's face turned into one of surprise and disgust.

"Ew, why would someone write that?" Jackie asked.

"Maybe he needed to put a kid gross joke?" Star suggested.

The group continued on their path as gray clouds gathered in the sky and the winds blew. The sound of rumbling thunder and falling rain followed shortly as the group traveled higher up the mountain.

Adam placed his arm in front of his face, attempting to block some of the wind and rain that was hitting his face.

"This storm will blow us off the mountain, we need to find shelter," Adam said.

"I agree," Janna replied.

The rest of the group wasn't fending much better. Well most of them were facing the elements.

"I don't know what's so bad, I feel rather fine," Star said as she walked as if she was taking a calming stroll.

Star for her part had casted a spell to make a shield around her body, protecting her from any element.

"You wouldn't happen to be able to share that, would you?" Adam asked, keeping his wet sticky hair out of his face.

Star stopped on her track, clearly it hadn't crossed her mind to do so.

"Right, I can do that. Don't worry I'll get you out of the rain in just a second," Star said as magic coursed to her right hand.

However, before Star could cast her spell, a deafening thunder crackled right above the group. They all stayed quiet before a lightning bolt crossed the dark-cloud-covered-sky. Their eyes widen at the sight of a massive boulder coming right towards them. The whole group screamed in horror before ducking down, avoiding the large boulder by a couple of inches. The group looked up at where the flying boulder came from, only to see smaller boulders coming their way.

"Get down!" Adam shouted to the group.

The boulders crashed and shattered against the rocky wall next to the group. Cracks appeared on the wall as smaller stones came off from the mountain.

Amidst the chaos of the flying boulders and small quakes they created, the group wondered what was causing this madness. Janna looked up from their hiding spot and caught the silhouette of something big.

"Oh crap! Guys we need to get off the mountain!" Janna called out in fear.

"What's going on?!" Adam asked the witch.

"This isn't some freaky thunderstorm we're caught in!" Janna said pointing ahead of the group. "We're in the middle of a giant clash."

The group looked to where Janna was pointing to and saw what had spooked her. There, amidst the thunder clouds were two large silhouettes of giants made of stone. As if parts of the mountains themselves had broken from it, two stone giants fought one another with stone fists. As they collided in their fight, chunks and pieces of each other flew off of them and towards the surrounding areas.

"We must find refuge!" Kelly said.

"Where do you get refuge from fighting mountains?!" Jackie asked.

Just then a loud cracking noise caught the group's attention. The thought of the mountain coming apart while the group was on it was a frightening idea what followed was much scarier. The group looked up as the parts of the mountain they were standing on were pulled off like legs stuck to a bed.

Adam looked up and realized that it was worse than the mountain coming apart. The mountain was waking up for a fight.

"Hold on!" Adam yelled, as he pulled himself and Star against the wall next to them.

Another stone giant pulled itself off of the mountain, taking the group for a ride on its knees. As the group held on for dear life, the stone giant turned to the other giants. It grabbed hold of one's shoulder and then punched it with its large stone fist. The punch sent the first stone giant back, crashing into the mountain behind it. It then got back up and tackled the giant the group was on with great strength.

The tackle sent both Jackie and Star flying off of their spots.

Adam caught Star by the leg. He dug his heels against the rock under his feet and pulled her up. Star laughed and howled in excitement as she was flung from side to side by the movements of the mountain. If Adam didn't know any better, he would've said that she was enjoying this.

Kelly drew out her claws and dug them deep into the stone giant's knee and quickly caught hold of Jackie, pulling her back.

"Thanks," Jackie said.

"You're welcome," Kelly replied as they both helped each other stay in place.

The stone giant jumped back into the fight. It punched the second stone giant in the stomach before uppercutting it with another punch. It then pushed the second stone giant further down the path before they punched each other again. The giants continued on pummeling each other, forcing the group to hold to the stone for their lives.

Star for her part was having the time of her life. She loved how her heartbeat went higher and higher as she was faced with certain doom.

"We can't hold on much longer!" Janna called out.

"I'm open to suggestions!" Adam replied.

Jackie then noticed something in the mountain right next to the stone giant they were riding on. She saw a cave that would be the best way to escape the crazy battle.

"The cave!" Jackie pointed out, causing everyone to look at it.

"I see it!" Kelly said. "Now we just need to get to it before we're thrown off the mountain."

After she said that, the stone giant was knocked back by the other stone giant. It plummeted down towards the cave and the mountain. The group screamed as the thought of being crushed came into mind.

"We got to jump now!" Kelly said as they got closer to the mountain.

The group jumped at the other part of the mountain pass as the stone giant crumbled on top of the mountain. They were close to landing on the other side before the light was blocked by the stone giant's crumbling knee.

The body of the stone giant fell off of the mountain, revealing Star, Jackie, Janna and Kelly still in one piece.

"Is everyone ok?" Jackie asked as they watched their new surroundings.

"I've had better falls in the Bounce Lounge, if I'm honest," Star replied.

"Hey, where's Lakestone?" Kelly asked, realizing that Adam wasn't near them.

"He was right next to us, wasn't he?" Janna asked as they all started looking for their missing friend.

Star spotted a hand grabbing hold of the edge of the mountain pass.

"He's here!" Star yelled, as Adam held on to the edge for dear life.

Adam tried to pull himself upwards, but as he tried to dig his feet against the mountain it crumbled. He was losing his holding and his hands weren't going to hold him up for much longer. He tried to pull himself once more, but the rain made holding on that much harder. He looked down to the dark forest under him, fear filled him, forcing him to look back up for a better place to grab hold of. Adam's grip was slipping and he'd soon find his way down to the bottom of the mountain. He pulled himself up once more as a do or die last ditch effort, but his grip slipped.

Adam lost his grip and was falling.

Just then, a hand shot out from above and caught Adam's hand. Adam looked up and saw Star pulling him up. Her arm was coated with a golden aura. She channeled her magic to increase her strength and with a silly smile on her face, effortlessly pulled Adam to safety.

Adam touched solid ground and turned to Star. He felt the beating of his heart banging against his chest as he took in Star's face. His brush of death left him breathless.

"Thank you, Star," Adam panted as the rest of the group helped them up. "You saved my life," He added.

"You're welcome, besides if you died it would've been a big problem for me," Star said. "You know, the bonding thing."

"Yeah, well... Thank you regardless," Adam said.

"Are you guys alright?" Jackie asked as she helped Adam back to his feet.

"We'll live, but we need refuge," Adam pointed out.

"This cave should be good for a night or two depending on the weather," Kelly said as she pointed to the cave.

"Then let's get out of the rain already," Janna said before the group made their way into the dark cave.

Once the group was inside the cave, Janna used her magic to draw one of her circles in the air. From the circle a sphere of light came out, illuminating the cave. The group looked around the cave, making sure that it wasn't the home of a large bear or some trolls and goblins. Once they were sure that there were no signs of any creature living in the cave, the group sat down to make a fire. After gathering some sticks and pieces of wood, Adam tried to light it up.

"You're taking too long," Star said, blasting the pile with magic to start a fire.

Adam jumped back, and was about to reply at the action but held back his tongue. She had saved him and he should at least cut her some slack.

"Well this has been one crazy day," Jackie said as they pulled together next to the fire.

Jackie got closer to the fire than anyone else. She rubbed her hands together as she stood next to fire. Adam then placed his coat on top of her, hoping that she would get warmer, to which she smiled at him for.

"Yeah, not everyday you wake up to a fight and almost die three times over," Adam said, rubbing his shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Kelly apologized, scratching the back of her head. "But again, at the time I thought you were a kidnapper at the time," Kelly said.

"I can see how you'd think that." Adam replied.

"I don't suppose that any of you have some food, do you?" Star asked.

Adam looked over his bag of rations and saw that he didn't have much food. He'd hoped to get some food from Janna's cabin, but he didn't get the chance to do so. All he had in his bag of rations were half a loaf of bread, three apples, and some pieces of dried meat.

"I'm afraid that this is all I've got," Adam said, offering the food to the girls.

Jackie grabbed an apple, Janna tore a piece of the bread, Kelly grabbed some of the dried meat, and Star munched on another apple.

"Guess I'll have to get us some food tomorrow," Kelly said before taking a bite out of the meat.

"Yeah, but I don't recommend going out now of all times," Janna said pointing out to the storm happening outside.

"Then I guess we'll have to sleep in here for the night," Adam said as they finished their meal.

"Yeah. Who needs a bed when you have a cave," Janna said as the group laid down to sleep.

"LAME! Come on, you guys can't just be tired!" Star said as she casted a ball of light that changed color in a raving beat.

"Star, today we've had to fight for our lives against Mina and her crazy knights, almost died in a crashed landing, and we were almost thrown off the mountain," Adam recalled. "I'm not particularly looking forward to partying."

"Oh, come on! A few brushes with death and you want to call it quits?" Star asked.

"Yes," the rest of the group replied.

"You guys are no fun," Star said, crossing her arms.

"Princess, please go to sleep. I promise that once we find your aunt, you'll get to party until the sun goes down," Kelly said, hoping the princess would call it a night.

Star looked at Kelly with an inquisitive look for a second.

"Okay, I'll wait till we get my aunt. But once we get her, we party!" Star said before laying down to sleep, covered in a magical blanket confusing the group completely.

"Let's just go to sleep," Janna said, tipping her hat before laying back against the cave wall.

After the stressful day the group had had they decided to not question the actions of the crazy princess and went to sleep.

Adam noticed that Jackie was slightly shivering. She probably wasn't used to the cold weather of the northern mountains he thought. He offered to share his blanket.

Jackie smiled at his gesture.

"You don't have to, but I thought that it would be better than-" Adam began, trying to explain his actions.

Jackie leaded against Adam, cutting his explanation short. His face was flustered by the feeling of Jackie's body pressing against his. He wrapped his arm around her body, covering her in the blanket.

"Hey, don't hug the hunk," Janna said, causing Kelly to laugh.

Jackie simply blew a raspberry at Janna, mockingly.

Adam's face went from a flustered look to a big blush of embarrassment as Jackie and Janna exchanged dirty teasing looks.

After a few more laughs, the group finally went to sleep. But not everything was fine in the land of their dreams, or at least not in the dreams of one of them.

* * *

Inside Star's dream she found herself in one of her usual fantasies: Star dancing with a wild unicorn armed to the teeth as she galloped through a field while scaring up humans and other creatures that were foolishly in her way. She rode without a care in the world, firing magic blasts left and right. She soon found herself in a forest clearing with a waterfall in front of her and shiny rocks sprouting out from the ground.

"I am the greatest queen in the universe!" Star called out as her unicorn neighed loudly.

"You sure are, Star," a voice whispered in Star's ear.

"Huh?" Star asked as she looked for the source of the whisper.

Star then noticed more and more whispers from different voices echoing through her dream. She dismounted her ride before the creature melted into a golden sticky liquid substance. She looked around the clearing, thinking that she must've just been stroking her own ego.

"Must've been my imagination," Star shrugged off as she closed her eyes without a care.

As soon as Star said those words, the forest around her melted away, transforming into the golden liquid that her unicorn had turned into. The bright sun and clear skies were changed into complete and utter darkness without her noticing. She took one step and felt her foot being submerged in the golden liquid. Star lifted her foot out of the golden liquid substance with curiosity.

"What the heck is this?" Star said as the darkness changed around her.

The black empty space turned bright and calm. The sky was now a light lavender with clear clouds and white blinking stars. The trees and shrubs had been turned into purple colored crystals. The waterfall no longer had water falling down from it, instead the strange golden liquid trailed down to the ground. The ground itself was completely submerged in the golden liquid.

"Wow, what the heck did I had for dinner to dream this up?" Star said, as she slowly reached down to touch the strange liquid.

She felt attracted to it, and wanted to be submerged in it. She could sense the power in the liquid. It was raw and untamed, it called to her like an instinct or a desire.

_"Star~"_

The voice called to her once more.

_"Star~"_

Star turned around and followed the whisper, deeper into the strange land that she now found herself in.

"Who's out there?" Star asked.

_"You're almost there Star~. Just follow my voice."_

Star did as she was told before she found herself in front of a shrine made out of crystals shaped like mushrooms. She then spotted the source of the voice that was calling her. The creature was a small blue man with a long white beard, purple lips, diamond shaped irises and pointy ears. He wore a long yellow tunic with long loose sleeves and had a large crystal imbedded in his head. His arms and legs were surrounded by chains as he sat crossed legged. He looked at Star with a twisted grin, showing his twisted teeth.

_"Hello, Star. I've been wanting to meet you for some time now," _He said with a mocking voice.

"Who are you?" Star asked.

_"My girl, if you don't know my name then you haven't been paying attention. You praise my name constantly," _He said, his smile and creepy eyes never leaving his face. _"My name is Glossaryck. And we have much to talk about, little butterfly."_


	11. Chapter 11

Star was speechless. She never thought that it was possible to meet the mystic she had heard of since her younger years. She had many questions but she couldn't speak. She expected a wise looking being, but the one before her was very far from what she had in mind. His crazed looking smile never left his face as she looked Star from head to toe. She couldn't help but wonder why the great and wise Glossaryck was chained up with several locks and chains. A far part of her mind told her that something wasn't right, that she should run as far away from the strange place.

But she couldn't or wouldn't move. Star was far too fearless to back down from any form of challenge. She smiled an equally unnerving smile at Glossaryck.

"Glossaryck, you look slightly different than from what I had in mind," Star said. "But I am at your service, what can I do for you?" She asked.

Glossaryck pulled back his large head as he laughed a thunderous laugh. The laugh was almost maniacal with a hint of madness in its echoing cackle. As he laughed, large black thunderstorm clouds gathered above the strange plane of existence. He took in a deep breath before wiping away a golden colored tear from his right eye. He continued chuckling to himself as the clouds above them dispersed.

_"Oh Star, it's not what you can do for me. It's what I can do for you," _Glossaryck said, chuckling to himself. _"You see I like your wild won't be tamed attitude. We could do great things you and I. You hearing what I'm saying?"_

This indeed tickled Star's curiosity. She wondered what the mystic monk would offer her.

"Alright, great Glossaryck, what can you do for me?" Star asked with a smile on her face. "Because, I don't mean to brag but, I'm a powerful princess devoted to your teachings. I can blast anything out of my way, manipulate the elements, turn a pesky human fool into a squirrel-toad, I can create a sentient cloud to take me wherever I want. Among many other things," She bragged with a smug look.

Star's boasting lead to Glossaryck to smile at her words.

_"Ha ha ha! Not bad kid, not bad. But that's all baby stuff, I could show you the bigger picture," _Glossaryck said, pressing his nasty right toe on Star's forehead.

Star's eyes turned black as she had a vision. She saw a large crimson sand colored desert where a tall dark tower rose. She saw a race of lizard-like creatures praising a large creature on an altar. She saw the birth of the first Queen of the Fablefolk and the great war that had once passed. But then the vision in front of her changed. She found herself on a golden throne with the royal crown her mother wore on her head. Star felt great power coursing through her body, she looked back and saw that a pair of golden butterfly wings spread at her command.

"Now this is awesome!" Star said as she watched legions of Fablefolk and humans alike bowing to her.

However, the vision before Star quickly turned to smoke as Glossaryck removed his finger from her forehead. She looked around, and only spotted the mad monk smiling at her.

"What happened? I want that back!" Star demanded, slamming her foot down.

_"So, you did like the grand future that I showed you? I don't blame you. Sadly, you can't get it on your own," _Glossaryck said in a sad tone. _"I can help you get all that you want, but I'm a bit chained up at the moment," _He said pulling up chains and lock that kept him in place.

Star narrowed her eyes at the lock.

"Here, let me," Star said, pulling her arms back. "Rainbow Fist Destroyer!"

Star fired a rainbow colored fist at the chains and lock. The spell struck the lock, creating a cloud of smoke. Once the cloud of smoke dissipated the lock was revealed to be undamaged.

"Huh? Narwal Blast!" Star called out, firing miniature Antarctic mammals struck the lock.

Once again there was no damage.

"What is this damn thing made off?" Star asked in annoyance.

_"I like your spirit kid, but like they say: If you want to get to the chunks of the hobo stew, you gotta dip down," _Glossaryck chuckled. _"The only way to set me free is to unleash my secret weapon. The entity that gives me strength and that'll bring about your destiny: The Darkness." _He explained.

"The Darkness, that doesn't sound nice," Star replied.

_"Isn't that the same thing that your mom would say about your spells?"_ Glossaryck asked. _"You see Star, the world's become a little boring. If things remain as they are, the Children of Man will drive the Fablefolk into the darkness. A new age is meant to rise, one lead by you. Find my gospel in the Evil Eye Monastery. Aid my acolytes recover the gate. And do something about that bonding thing you got going on," _He instructed her.

Star looked at the bonding mark on her hand. She wanted to get rid of the bonding that Adam had gotten her on, at least according to her own recollection of the events. She hated being controlled and would fight back with everything she had to break free from the actions that some took to control her.

"How the heck am I suppose to do that? Trust me, I'd love to break it but I can't break it because it got messed up," Star sighed. "If you've got any idea on how to break it, I'm all ears."

_"Hmmm, have you ever been told the story of Seth the Plague? A slave bonded to a dreaded master that became the most feared warlord that Oberon ever faced?" _Glossaryck asked.

"Oh... Yeah, good old Seth. Hard to forget someone with such... a striking name, But feel free to refresh my memory," Star mumbled.

_"Seth was a champion gladiator in the ancient desert, a plague upon his enemies. He was placed under the control of his master by a bonding spell, much like the one you have. If the master died then so would he. But he learned that a master is only in control as long as the slave believes that they are a slave. He then took his master's life after a great fight," _Glossaryck explained.

Star thought about what the words that Glossaryck was telling her.

"You don't mean..." Star began.

_"Hey kid, it's you future on the line. You want it or will you give it to a man?" _Glossaryck asked.

"Hell no! I am Star Butterfly! I'll have my fate forged by no one! Not my mom, not the humans, and definitely not that human!" Star claimed.

_"Now that's the way~," _Glossaryck said, as the strange land turned black. _"I can help you, Star. I can take away all those silly limitations. There will be nothing holding you back from getting what you want. Now run along now, the hobo stew is getting cold."_

* * *

Star woke up, she was back in the cave. The fire had burnt out and the remains were now charred. She spotted Adam, Jackie, Janna and Kelly were still asleep, huddled around the remains of the fire. Her eyes got fixed on Adam, as he slept with Jackie and Janna side by side of his body. Star growled as she remembered the words that Glossaryck had told her.

If she wanted to be free and inherit everything she was entitled to she would have to take care of him.

"Sorry Adam, but it's you or me," Star said, lifting her hand with magic gathering around it.

Just as Star was about to fire her spell, the mark of bonding began burning her hand. She held her hand in pain as the magic dispersed from her hand. She looked at her mark in rage before trying again only to get the same result.

"Why isn't it working?" Star asked, gritting her teeth.

Every time she tried to attack Adam with magic the mark kept her from using it. She then remembered that Adam had forbade her from ever harming him with her magic using the bonding. She cursed under her breath as she was now unable to harm him.

A loud yawn made Star put her murdering plans away, from now. The rest of the group was waking up.

Adam rubbed his eye, waking himself up a little more.

"Good morning, Star," Adam said, opening his eyes.

He was then followed by Jackie and Janna.

"Man, that was a nice night's sleep," Janna said.

"Yeah, good morning guys," Jackie said, stretching her limbs.

"Morning everyone, morning princess," Kelly said.

"Morning fellas, man I'm starving," Star said. "Do we have anything to eat?" She asked looking away from the group.

"I think we ate the last bit yesterday," Kelly said, slightly confused by Star's nervous shifty attitude.

Kelly sniffed at Star, her race was capable of smelling the shift in people's mood and health. It was like being able if the person next to you was afraid, sick or just hungry. Kelly was used to being able to pin point the mood of the people around her with ease, that's what made her such a great hound for the Lord of the Hunt. After living next to Star for many years, Kelly could figure her out with just one whiff of her scent. But something was wrong. Star had no odd smell to her, it was as if she had always been like this.

"We better get some food before going on our way," Adam suggested. "Let's pack our stuff and head to the forest, there might be some food we can catch there on our way to the monastery."

"I don't want some berries! I want some juicy meat with lots of sugar!" Star said.

"Who eats sugar with meat?" Jackie asked with confusion.

"I'll hunt us a stag to eat, we could use the protein," Kelly said. "Can't promise to find anything sweet though."

"Let's go then," Janna said.

* * *

The group walked down the mountain pass until they found a rocky path down the forest below made out of the rests of the battle that took place. The battle between the large stone giants had crumbled most of the path and pieces of the fallen giant now been turned into a makeshift path to the forest underneath. The upper body of the fallen stone giant laid against the mountain with its arm connecting the pass tot he floor. The group climbed down the corpse of the stone giant, they grabbed hold of the tough rocky skin before sliding down the remains of the forearm down to the forest.

The group then turned to the forest. The trees were completely bent backwards, the body, the branches and the leaves all looked as though the strong wind of a hurricane was blowing at them. But there was no strong wind, not even a gentle breeze.

"Wow, someone combed this forest," Janna said.

"Kelly, do you... um smell any animals in the forest?" Adam asked.

Kelly took in a deep breath. Different scents entered her nose, giving her a clear idea of what animals were living in the forest.

"Yeah, we got some bucks, a couple of rabbits and some other animals living in the forest," Kelly said. "We should get some decent breakfast in here."

"Alright, let's get going!" Star said, walking ahead of the group.

Adam let out a sigh before he and the other girls followed behind her.

The group walked around the bended trees, looking for their breakfast. The branches covered the paths between the trees like bony hands reaching out to grab unsuspecting victims. As the group walked deeper into the forest the smell of fallen leaves and a faint scent of mint. There was the faint sound of animals chirping around the group.

Adam turned his sights to the left and glimpsed at a couple of birds before they took flight.

"This looks like a nice place," Adam said. "I can certainly think of worse places to walk through."

"Keep your guard up, we only need to get distracted for one second for something to jump out," Kelly chided.

"Can we please just get something to eat!? I'm starving here," Star moaned.

As they walked Jackie noticed a few berries on a bush next to her. She grabbed a handful of berries and smelled them before showing them to Kelly.

"Are these ones edible?" Jackie asked.

Kelly smelled them before giving Jackie the thumbs up.

Jackie popped one on her mouth before tasting its sweet and juicy taste.

"You want some, Star?" Jackie offered.

"I'll grab one or ten," Janna said, grabbing a couple of berries.

"Gimme!" Star said before swallowing the berries that Jackie offered her. "Good, but I'm still hungry. How long will it take you guys to find something good to eat?" She asked.

Adam and Kelly shared a slightly worried look.

"We better get something before she starts to take bites out of us," Adam whispered.

"Agreed," Kelly said before sniffing at the air.

She used her acute smell to search for an animal that they could hunt for food. She caught the scent of a young buck not far from where they stood.

"I got something. This way," Kelly said, taking off after the young buck.

"I'll go help Kelly catch breakfast," Adam said. "You guys see if you can gather more of those berries and start a fire."

"Hey, how come we need to do the menial duties of a housewife when you go out hunting?!" Star asked with an indignant tone. "Maybe I want to hunt, you misogynist bastard."

"Um, sorry but do any of you have any experience hunting?" Adam asked.

"No, sorry," Janna replied.

"I could help if it was fish, but I don't know how to catch a deer," Jackie replied sheepishly.

"I've hunted and destroyed anything that's crossed my path," Star answered, holding her hands up with magic flaring. "That deer will be torn apart by my crystal explosive cupcakes!"

Adam's eyes went wide with fear at the princess' claim. He was aware that her reckless attitude and uncontrollable use of magic were a recipe for disaster and this was a clear red flag. If she hunted the animal, she'd kill everyone and everything in the process.

"Um, I think it would be better if you don't use those to hunt an animal we need whole... Not scattered to burning chunks," Adam said.

"Where's the fun in that?" Star asked.

"Hey, Star, why don't you give us a hand in getting a fire to cook the meat," Jackie suggested.

"Yo Star, I found some cool looking skulls here," Janna called out. "We could totally summon ghosts."

Star's attention instantly turned to the origin of Janna's voice. Her mood doing a complete shift.

"Ooh, I want to see some ghosts!" Star said before going after Janna.

Adam let out a sigh before looking at Jackie with an apologetic look.

"Please keep her out of trouble," Adam begged.

"I'll do everything I can," Jackie said before kissing Adam on the cheek.

Jackie then left to help Janna keep an eye on the Fablefolk princess, leaving Adam with a blush on his face.

Adam waited for a second before he went to catch up to Kelly.

* * *

Adam and Kelly had managed to meet up and were looking for the buck. The laid low, using the green shrubbery and Kelly's green fur as camouflage. They spotted a young buck deer eating some grass next to some trees. It had small antlers on its head and dark brown fur that covered its body.

"I see the deer," Adam said. "How do we catch it?"

"I'll go around it from the left while you go around it from the right," Kelly explained. "We'll then jump it, since we don't have any bow nor arrows to shoot it."

"Got it," Adam said, before they each moved towards the deer.

Adam kept his body low, as he used the bushes and the trees as cover. He grabbed hold of the sword, readying himself to draw it. He knew that a sword wasn't the best tool for hunting, but it was all he had. He'd never been much of a hunter, but now he'd have to improvise. Adam spotted Kelly on the other side of the deer. She was ready to jump in and capture it. She gave him the signal and he jumped.

Adam pulled out the sword before jumping out of the bushes. He screamed at the deer, getting its attention.

The deer looked directly at the eyes of Adam with its own golden eyes.

Adam froze in his tracks. He couldn't shake the feeling that the very deer was gazing into his soul.

Kelly jumped over the deer, ready to sink her claws and fangs into it. But her attack never landed on its target. Kelly phased through the deer as if it wasn't there. She landed on the ground right before the deer moved away from them.

Adam helped Kelly up before they gazed at the strange deer as it looked at them with its golden eyes.

"Oh, no," Kelly said upon looking at the deer.

"Something tells me that's not a normal deer," Adam said.

From behind the strange deer, the noise of branches and thick wood being broken and snapped caused both Adam and Kelly to look at the source of it. They saw the branches of the trees being broken as a large black furred creature walked up to them. The creature before them resembled a large black furred stag, but its face was a glowing white human skull covered in green colored fire with two large antlers coming out from both sides it. The creature looked down at the deer below him before looking at both Adam and Kelly.

_"It appears that we've got guests," _the large creature spoke. _"Tell me, what are a hound of the Lord of the Hunt and a human doing in my forest?" _It asked before taking another step.

Adam instinctively rose his sword and helped Kelly get back to her feet. He couldn't see the large creature's eyes, but he felt the piercing gaze it gave him.

"Kelly, do you know who or what this creature is?" Adam asked, feeling small under the gaze of the creature.

"He's Cernunnos, the forest god," Kelly said. "He rules over the forests as a primordial guardian and is always surrounded by other forest spirits. He is often at odds with my master. But he hasn't been seen in years," She explained.

_"Answer my question, hound," _Cernunnos said, looking at Kelly.

Kelly quickly bowed at the forest spirit before she answered it.

"My apologies, oh mighty Cernunnos, we were merely seeking for food. We didn't mean to attack one of your vassals," Kelly explained.

_"I see, this one does have a tendency of running off on its own," _Cernunnos replied as the deer ran off behind the horned god. _"But that doesn't explain why would you work with a child of man. If I recall correctly, the Lord of the Hunt doesn't like them very much. And last time we crossed paths you killed some of my vassals. Why shouldn't I strike you down where you stand?" _He asked, causing Adam to feel a cold chill pass through his back.

Adam gulped in fear. The cold voice of the spirit made it all clear that the horned guardian was not one to make idle threats. Adam looked around to see if they could escape, but he saw many more deer, birds and smaller critters with golden eyes looking at them from the shadows. He noticed that they were surrounded, words would be the one thing that could save them.

"Oh mighty Cernunnos, my name is Adam Lakestone, may I ask you something?" Adam asked.

_"You've already asked me something, but I can smell the scent of Lady Hekapoo on you so I'll allow you to ask your question," _Cernunnos said, stepping closer to Adam and Kelly.

"What crime have we committed?" Adam asked. "We were hungry and we hunted for food. Is it a crime when a wolf or another Fablefolk does so?"

Kelly looked at Adam, wondering what was he thinking.

_"True, nature is a cruel mistress not just surrounded by flowers and singing birds but also by blood and bones," _Cernunnos replied. _"You seem to be more insightful then most beings I've come across. However, I will have to test you both to make sure you're not just lying to get away. Just to see why Hekapoo would find you interesting," _He explained.

Adam couldn't help but tighten his hold on his sword. He felt the trees and the eyes of the forest spirits coming down on him like hawks circling their prey. He felt short of breath but did his best to look at the primordial guardian spirit of the forest.

_"Do you accept, Adam Lakestone?" _Cernunnos asked.

"Yes, I accept," Adam replied.

Cernunnos looked at Adam with intrigued curiosity.

_"Very well, your trial shall now commence," _Cernunnos said before the grass around Adam and Kelly grew upwards, surrounding him and cutting them from the rest of the forest.

Adam turned around and saw that there was a path behind him and Kelly.

"What in the?" Adam mumbled.

_"You must find your way out of this maze and at the end face a decision," _Cernunnos explained, his voice coming from the grass around them.

"Guess we have no choice," Kelly said.

"Let's go," Adam said before they started walking.

Adam held up his sword as he and Kelly walked through the maze with grass walls on either side of them. Adam tried cutting the walls with his sword, but they regrew as soon as the sword passed through it. It was as if the sword never touched the grass. They felt a sense of tranquility as they continued to walk, but they could spot a couple shadows around each corner. A light breeze fluttered the grass walls around them, causing both Adam and Kelly to tense slightly. The sound of fluttering wings passing through the grass made Adam turn around with his sword out. Kelly heard something moving behind her and she swiped her claws at the source of the noise.

"What is this place?" Adam asked.

"Cernunnos' test no doubt," Kelly replied. "We need to keep moving."

Adam nodded before he followed Kelly's lead. As they turned and walked through the maze's corridors. They looked around for a clue of where they were going, but all the corridors looked the same. Adam made a small mark on the ground with his sword, trying to make an idea of where he was going, but the mark was quickly covered by grass. He let out a sigh of frustration, knowing that there was no way of cheating or working around the trial.

"What do you think Cernunnos will make us do once we're out of here?" Adam asked.

"Not sure, the last one to ever survive his trials was some human saint," Kelly said. "Just keep your eyes open for anything suspicious."

"Wouldn't that be just about anything right now?" Adam asked.

Adam and Kelly continued walking down the path. The path seemed to go on without any end in sight. Nothing more than an emerald path in front of them.

Adam lost all sense of time. He tried looking up for a sign of where they might be going, but the sun was stuck.

"Damn," Adam said.

_"Adam,"_

Adam turned around at the mention of his name.

"Did you say something Kelly?" Adam asked.

"No," Kelly replied.

_"Adam,"_

Adam turned, sword ready looking for the source of the voice. It was calm, and it was playful.

_"Adam,"_

The whisper continued to call him.

_"Adam,"_

Adam recognized the voice. It was his father's voice.

"Dad?" Adam asked.

_"Adam," _the whisper continued calling.

Adam ran after the voice that called to him. He couldn't believe it but he knew that voice. That was his father's voice and he needed to know what was he doing here and why.

"Adam, wait!" Kelly called out before running after him.

Adam ran as fast as his legs could carry him, the grass in front of him was no longer anything to him. He would find his father and nothing was going to stop him. He saw an exit in front of him, and ran towards it with Kelly just behind him.

Both Adam and Kelly ran out of the maze and found themselves in a clearing. But they weren't alone.

In front of them was Adam's father, Jason, kneeling down with River the Lord of the Hunt standing next to him. He wore his battle armor with the deer helmet on his head. Jason was thin with blood dripping down his mouth and a pained expression in his face. River stood over the wounded man, his eyes were red with craze intent behind them and a frown that could only signify the desire for blood.

"So, this is the scoundrel that kidnapped my daughter and set the world on fire," River spoke in a deep and rumbling voice. "I expected you to be taller."

"Adam," Jason weakly mumbled, looking at his son.

"Dad!" Adam screamed before turning to River. "Release him now!" He demanded with his sword.

River laughed.

"You hold no authority over me, boy. You've committed crimes against me and my family," River declared. "For that you must pay for it in blood."

"That was an accident, you don't have to do this," Adam begged.

"My king, my lord, he speaks the truth. The princess snuck out on her own and Adam helped her not knowing she was a Fablefolk," Kelly argued. "Neither he nor his father hold blame in this."

River sneered as he looked at Kelly.

"My hound, have you forgotten your allegiance to me? I ordered you to find my daughter and kill this human, but here you stand next to him without my daughter!" River roared.

"My lord, if you'd just let me explain-" Kelly said.

"NO more words, only blood!" River said, cutting Kelly off and pulling out his battle ax. "Now you'll die along with this human bastard."

River jumped at the two with his ax held high.

Adam turned to Kelly and saw she wasn't moving. He tackled her out of the way of the attack, just as River struck the ground creating a small shockwave. Adam turned to face River with a scowl of his own.

"Kelly, get my dad out of here," Adam said, getting ready to fight. "I'll take the king for a little dance here."

"Are you mad, Adam? He'll kill you," Kelly said.

"Maybe, but I'll be sure to give you time to get away," Adam said. "My mess, I have to clean it up."

Kelly nodded before going towards Adam's father.

Adam turned once more against the Lord of the Hunt. He held up his sword as the Lord of the Hunt savagely growled.

"I see my hound has found a new master. Tell me human, do you really think you have a chance in hell of defeating me?" River asked.

Adam breathed deeply, calming his nerves. He had to deal with River for as long as he could. His grip tightened.

"Why don't you come over here and find out, old man," Adam replied.


	12. Chapter 12

Heavy dark clouds gathered in the sky a top of the city of Echo Creek. Lightning crossed the cloud covered sky, as the people scurried to their homes. Rain drops fell to the earth followed by strong winds that carried a sense of foreboding doom placed the citizens in a state of unrest. After the surprise attack of the Fablefolk princess, many knights and guards patrolled the city in hopes of keeping the peace and find any possible threat before it became an issue. But the biggest thing that placed the citizen in a state of unease was the growing army camping outside the city walls.

Sadly, most of the Warriors of the Sun left with Captain Mina on a special mission. This left only a couple of knights to protect the city.

In another part of the city, Duncan gazed out the window of the Diaz manor. He kept watch for what happened on the outside, hoping that the growing army would disband and that life could go back to the way it was. He had been doing this ever since they took refuge in the home of the Diaz family. Jason was still working as the blacksmith to keep up appearances, but the rest of the family was staying with the Diaz.

"Still hoping that you could go home?" a sweet voice called out, getting Duncan's attention.

Duncan turned around to see the owner of the sweet voice. She was a girl no older than him with tanned skin, brown eyes, and wild brown hair that reached down her back. She wore a blue dress with a skirt that reached past her knees, a purple long sleeved jacket and a necklace with a butterfly on it.

"Mariposa, are you all dressed up for me?" Duncan teased.

"Nope, my mom wanted me to put on something 'more proper'," Mariposa said, slugging Duncan in the arm. "You don't like my usual look?"

"On the contrary, you've never looked better," Duncan said, before talking in a more somber tone. "I was wondering what's going on with Adam. He should've arrived at the Monastery of St. Tom a few days ago. But we haven't received any letters. I'm just worried about him." He explained.

Mariposa looked at Duncan with a sympathetic look. She gave him a kind smile and took hold of his hand. Duncan looked at Mariposa as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I know how you feel, when my brother goes out with those lazy bastards he hangs with; I'm always worried," Mariposa said. "I can tell you of all the books I could've filled with ways that I was afraid of losing my brother. But I always remember that he isn't stupid. He always takes care of himself and never looks for trouble unless he has to," She explained.

Duncan smiled, knowing that Mariposa was telling the truth.

"You're right, besides Adam isn't the kind of guy to just jump into trouble. This'll be over soon and Adam will come back home safe and sound. He is a bit whiny and a pain, but I'm sure that he's safe wherever he might be," Duncan claimed, believing the best possible outcome was happening.

* * *

Adam was sent back as River ran towards him, bellowing like a madman. He rolled out of the way as the mad king brought down his battle ax. He lifted his sword to keep his distance from the king.

"I'm starting to see where Star gets her insanity from," Adam muttered. "Guess what they say about royalty is true."

"I'll have your head for having my sweet child's name pass through your dirty lips!" River roared, charging at Adam.

"Seriously?" Adam asked.

Adam swung his sword, clashing it with River's ax. Adam dug his feet against the ground as the smaller king pushed him back with his strength. He rolled out out the way, barely avoiding the ax's blade. He swung his sword in a horizontal fashion, slashing River's shoulder. The mad king screamed in rage as he tried to hack Adam to pieces. Adam held up his sword, blocking the attacks of the ax by parrying them to the best of his ability.

While Adam was facing against the vicious king of the Fablefolk, Kelly had reached Adam's father. She reached out to him, but he recoiled at the sight of her.

"It's alright, Mr. Lakestone, I'm a friend of your son," Kelly said, trying to help him.

"No, stay away," Jason said.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Kelly said, reaching out to him.

Kelly grabbed hold of Jason, but as soon as she grabbed hold of him he vanished into smoke. Kelly looked around and then to her hands. There was no sign of Adam's father.

"What the?" Kelly mumbled, trying to make sense of what had just happened. "What just happened?"

Back with Adam, he was facing against River with everything that he had. He pushed back the ax blade but wasn't able to make it budge even slightly. He could smell the foul stench of River's corn infested breath that he was so close.

"You will die here, human. And your mongrel father is next," River said. "You should've known your place when you had the chance! Your whole family will suffer for your mistakes!"

Adam's eyes widen, before gritting his teeth as his blood boiled at River's words. His grip tightened as he looked the king of the Fablefolk square in the eyes.

"Don't you ever think about that," Adam snarled.

"Oh, the human brat has some spite in hi-" River began before Adam head-butted him in the face.

Adam kicked River in the stomach, pushing him backwards. He then charged at the king, who'd lowered his face plate to protect himself. Adam swung his sword with rage and as fast as his arms would let him. Each strike of his sword pushed back River.

"Your fight is with me, Lord of the Hunt. Leave my family out of this!" Adam yelled.

"What's the matter, boy?" River asked through his mask. "Touched a nerve, did I?"

Adam didn't respond, he just swung harder. He was angry, angry with how everyone he cared about was made to suffer for his mistake. He wanted to cut loose and just cleave something with his sword. And the king was just stubborn and infuriating enough to receive the steel of Adam's sword.

"You are angry? Why? And at who?" River asked, pushing Adam away with a swing of his ax.

"Take a guess," Adam replied angrily. "I never wanted this!"

"Didn't you want adventure? To save the day like the heroes of old?" River asked as he swung his battle ax down on Adam.

Adam was pushed back by the attack. Just as he was about to get up, River's blade came down on him. He blocked the attack with his sword, pushing the ax away from his chest, with only a small cit on his chest. The weight of the ax was coming ever closer to Adam forcing him to grip the blade of his sword to push it back.

"It's true, I wanted adventure... But I never wanted to hurt people," Adam struggled against the weight of the ax and the Fablefolk king.

"Then why are you here?" River asked through his mask.

"I'm here because I've got no choice," Adam said as he began to push back.

"I bet you regret ever making that foolish choice," River taunted.

"I made a mistake, and now my family and my home are paying for it! But I don't regret helping someone that needed help!" Adam yelled before parrying the ax to the side.

Adam pushed River off of him and held his sword against the king. They both stood across from one another with their weapons ready to strike. Adam charged once more against River. Their blades clashed, creating sparks as they struck each other with intensity.

"I may not be a knight, but I've got a chance to save the people that I love," Adam said amidst the strikes. "And no one is going to stop me!"

Adam ducked under another swing of River's blade before slashing at River's covered face. River fell backwards, his helmet coming apart from the strike. Adam panted heavily as he went towards the downed king. He frowned and gritted his teeth as he walked towards the downed king. He kicked the battle ax away from River's reach. He lifted his sword, ready to strike. His mind was set and his arm was strong.

"Adam wait!" Kelly called out, getting him out of his mind set.

Adam turned to Kelly before he looked down as a crack noise caught his attention. He looked at the cracking helmet as it fell to the ground. River's face had changed. No longer did he have a long blond beard or wrinkles from many years and battles. Now Adam stared at his own face. He took two trembling steps before he dropped his sword.

"What is this?" Adam mumbled, in confusion.

"This is Cernunnos's trial, none of it is real," Kelly said reaching Adam's side.

_"Isn't it?" _Cernunnos's voice asked, calling out to the two. _"Nature and nurture are always in combat. Like life and death. Light and darkness. What will you choose when the time comes?"_

Adam looked at the creature in front of him. A snarling maddening reflection of himself. It picked up the battle ax as it prepared to attack him once more. Adam on instinct reached for his sword, but Kelly pulled him back. He looked at her and then at the dark reflection coming towards them. He withdrew his hand from the sword before placing it on Kelly's shoulder. Adam walked to the dark reflection.

"Adam, what are you doing?" Kelly asked, just as the plants around her wrapped themselves around her.

"You want me?" Adam asked, stepping towards the dark clone of himself. "Come get me."

The dark clone snarled at Adam before lifting his battle ax over his head.

"I may be angry but luckily I have friends to knock some sense into me," Adam said. "And if that's not good enough for you, then go to hell."

The dark clone of Adam snarled a savage grunt before baring his sharp jagged teeth. He let out a roar bringing down the ax.

Adam remained still. He needed to prove that he wasn't a monster. And if he failed then hopefully this'll help his friends and make up for his actions.

The dark reflection brought down the battle ax. Adam shut his eyes in fear of the blade coming down on him and splitting him in two... But all he felt was a warm trail of blood flow down his forehead. Adam opened his eyes and saw his dark reflection holding still, with its ax tapping the top of his forehead.

The dark reflection turned to dust and was blown away by a silent wind.

Kelly was then released from the plant's hold before she went to Adam's side.

Adam looked around for a sign of what had happened.

"What happened?" Kelly asked as Adam touched the blood trailing down his forehead.

"I don't know," Adam replied, looking at the blood on his fingers.

_"You faced my trial," _Cernunnos said.

Adam and Kelly turned around and saw the forest god standing behind them, still in its massive size.

"What did you learn from that?" Adam asked.

_"You should be asking yourself that question," _Cernunnos said. _"A great calamity is coming, one that has been calling for its release for some time now. I needed to make sure that those that seek to face it were strong enough to do so."_

"Let me guess, we aren't what you were expecting," Adam said.

_"Could you ever expect a tiny seed to become a mighty tree? The world may have been written by a fool full of sound and fury, but both races are capable of great good and great evil,"_ Cernunnos explained. _"You hold great strength within you, Adam Lakestone. But you will suffer to reach your goal. Remember lady Hekapoo's words. My __fellow spirits and I are going to await the end of this calamity. I hope that we return to a world where the One True King sits once more in his throne." _Cernunnos said as he and the spirits that followed him walked deeper into the dark of the forest.

Both Adam and Kelly found themselves back in the strange forest with a downed stag in front of them.

Kelly picked up the downed stag as Adam picked up his sword.

Adam looked at his own reflection on the sword's blade before sheathing it.

"Whatever the world may have in stored for me, I'll be ready," Adam said. "Thank you, god of the forest," He added.

* * *

"I'm bored," Star moaned, hanging upside down from a tree. "Bored. Bored. So bored."

After the group split up, Jackie, Janna and Star went on to look for a place to set up. They'd already gotten a campfire going and gathered some berries to eat. Most of the group was doing something. Jackie kept a look out for any signs of Adam and Kelly while Janna was looking over her bag of potions and other things she got from her house. Star, however, wasn't doing much.

"I'm getting bored out of my mind here," Star whined. "Come on girls, let's do something fun."

"Star, we're waiting for Adam and Kelly to return with the food. You need to be patient," Jackie said, looking at the princess.

"But I'm bored!" Star continued to whine, swinging from the branch she was hanging from.

Jackie let out a sigh before rolling her eyes. She then went to the campfire to sit next to the warmth of Janna as she looked at a potion in his hand.

"You are barking up the wrong tree, literally in this case," Janna said, not looking away from a bottle of bright blue liquid.

"What?" Jackie asked.

"You trying to make Star do something she doesn't want to," Janna explained. "I've known her a long time and let me tell you, pressuring her to do something or just stay put is not going to get you anywhere. She's like a kid with the impulses of a grown woman, or wild animal, without any sense of responsibility or maturity," She explained.

"But she's going to be the ruler of the Fablefolk, how can she just shirk that kind of responsibility?" Jackie asked. "Aren't nobles suppose to take care of their subjects and help them?"

"Very few actually do, but you should meet Star's mom; that woman may be a bit high strung but her people have prospered in this time of peace," Janna said. "Don't tell Star I said that."

"I won't," Jackie chuckled.

"Hey! We're back," a voice called to the girls.

Jackie, and Janna turned around to see Adam and Kelly bringing the downed stag with them.

"I hope you girls are hungry," Kelly said before they dropped the large animal.

Jackie and Janna went up to meet Adam and Kelly, and Jackie noticed the wound on his forehead.

"Adam, what happened to you? How did you get this wound?" Jackie asked, scared that he'd gotten hurt from the hunt.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Adam said, as Jackie checked his forehead wound.

"We may have ran into Cernunnos by accident, and had to face one of his trials," Kelly explained. "We almost died."

"Damn, that's cool," Janna said. "Dibs on going next time."

By this time, Star finally noticed that the rest of their group had gotten back.

"FOOD!" Star said with drool coming out of her mouth.

Star dropped from the tree branch and quickly ran to the stag before she began munching on the animal.

"Star, at least let us prepare the stag," Kelly said, pulling the stag's body from the princess.

"But I'm hungry!" Star whined with her mouth full. "These two didn't want to do anything fun with me,"

"We asked you to help us gather wood," Jackie said, getting annoyed by the princess' childish behavior.

"Just wait for a little while for the stag to be ready for us to eat," Adam said.

Star got fed off and glared at the group.

"You want to get this ready?" Star asked. "Well ready this!" She added before blasting the stag with magic.

The blast of magic struck the stag, burning it into a charred corpse. The fur had been burnt off. The meat was flambéed to a crisp. And the bones were covered in black dried-off blood. The rest of the group could only look at Star in shock and a little bit of rage.

"What is wrong with you?" Adam asked, holding himself back from whipping out his sword.

"You wanted to prepare the deer, so I did," Star said. "It's skinned, cooked and ready to eat. You're welcome, by the way."

"I'm pretty sure that 'prepare' isn't the same as burn the food into something inedible," Jackie said.

"Yeah, sorry Star, but she's in the right," Janna mumbled.

"What would you know, I have magic and I can use it to do whatever I see fit," Star argued. "I did you guys a favor," She said.

Jackie looked like she was about to blow a casket. She wanted to give this princess a piece of her mind and she was going to speak her mind.

"You want us to thank you? For what?!" Jackie asked. "From what I've heard, you've been more a hinderance than anything else. You didn't help when we were attacked or when we were about to be killed. You want me to thank you for doing the bare minimum? Or causing more trouble than you're worth?" She asked as she got face to face to the princess.

"How dare you. I am princess Star Butterfly, heiress to the Fablefolk throne. You should learn your place, fish girl," Star threatened.

"Alright, that's enough both of you," Kelly said, getting in between the two girls.

"She started it!" Jackie and Star said, pointing accusing fingers at each other.

"And we're putting an end to it," Adam said, getting into the argument. "I know that you two don't get along, and I can't blame you. But we still have to travel together for a little while longer. So please, no killing each other," He said.

Jackie and Star stared at each other with frowns in their faces.

"Princess, stand down," Kelly said, pushing Star back.

Star looked at Kelly and snarled at her before huffing.

"Fine, she's not worth it anyway," Star said, walking back to the campfire.

Once Star was out of earshot, Jackie decided that she needed a little time away from the princess. Adam followed her with a worried look on his face.

"Things don't seem to be going smoothly for our little group," Janna said.

"That would be putting things mildly," Kelly added before looking for something that could be edible from the remains of the stag.

Adam followed Jackie until they were a good distance from the campfire. She let out a sigh of frustration before turning to look at Adam in the face.

"I know, I'm being hypocritical by snapping at Star like that," Jackie said. "But she just-"

"Gets on your nerves? I know, trust me, I do," Adam said. "There isn't a moment when I'm not tempted to use this stupid bonding to make her behave," He explained.

"But you'd never do that. I've only known you for a short time, Adam, but I can tell that you'd never abuse your position," Jackie said as she got closer to the young man. "You're like the heroes in the stories I've read and heard of. A humble being that does the right thing even if it's hard. You've had your slip-ups but you're still here with us, when you could've easily gone off on your own," She explained.

Adam noticed that they were alone and no one would hear them. They were completely secluded from the rest of their group. He also noticed how she was pressing her body against his, to the point that he could feel every curve she had. Her warm body was certainly having an effect on his own body.

And she felt it.

Jackie flashed a smile at Adam with a blush on her face.

"I- um- can't explain this as anything other than- you're very beautiful... and I-" Adam rambled before Jackie pressed a finger on his lips.

"I like you too, Adam. And believe me, I would love nothing more than to kiss your face until you were blue," Jackie admitted before kissing Adam on the lips. "But I don't want to rush you if you're not ready. Maybe after we get to the monastery we can talk about this and then have some fun," She said, hugging Adam tightly.

Adam was red as a tomato.

"Y-Yes I-. Thank you, Jackie," Adam said.

Jackie smiled at Adam before they both turned and went to rejoin the rest of their group.

Star was chewing a meaty bone like a wild animal as Adam and Jackie arrived at the campfire. She noticed them and decided to give them another jab.

"So, did the human managed to get you calm down?" Star asked.

Jackie narrowed her eyes at the princess but instead of snapping back at her, she let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I've calmed down," Jackie said before she and Adam sat down next to Janna and Kelly and proceeded to eat the not charred berries.

* * *

Far from the forest, a lone stone monastery with a jewel at its entrance stood at the top of a single mountain with a large dragon-shaped waterfall on the right poured water out. The entrance looked like the mouth of a mad man, the tiled roof was falling apart with wood fossilized after many generations. The windows that were once covered with stained glass, now laid shattered. The snow covered monastery and grave silence were the only thing that inhabited the forgotten ruined... At least at first glance.

Statues made of stone guarded a path into the deeper parts of the monastery, holding torches lit with green fire. Each statue had the appearance of lizard warriors.

At the end of the corridor that the statues guarded, a room built with grey worn out stones with a single skyline above an an altar illuminated the room. The sound of running water was the only thing that could be heard. At the middle of the room the four-sided altar stood directly under the skyline's light. On top of the altar, the statue of the Mad Monk Glossaryck held a single green leather book with a golden infinity symbol and jewels inside its circles.

The Gospel of Glossaryck. The book from which all copies were made. The copies that instilled hatred and ignorance among both races. This cursed book was the source of it all.

A lone cloaked figure walked towards the altar. She pulled back its hood to reveal a sea foam green hair and a round pale face with spade marks on her cheeks.

"Even if it kills me, I will destroy your legacy," She said. "I'll never let you take my daughter like you took my husband. Thus swears Eclipsa the Queen of Darkness," the now named Eclipsa said.

Eclipsa glared at the cursed book with rage in her eyes, as a laughter echoed inside the room. The laughter only made her eyes glow bright green with a livid anger that would make any brave soul cower in great fear.


	13. Chapter 13

Adam, Jackie, Janna, Kelly and Star continued on their trek after finishing their breakfast and putting out the campfire. As they walked out of the forest, they could feel the eyes of the forest spirits trailing behind them. Their glowing eyes were like fireflies in the shadows, illuminating only a small part of the darkness but showing that there was something more out there. Adam turned his head and gave the woods one final look, knowing that there was more riding on their shoulders than what he first thought. He didn't want to admit it, but he hoped that things could go back to the way they were. His life wasn't as bad as he thought, and now that he'd tasted the life of adventuring he missed it. But getting back to it would be harder than anything else.

The world would be very different from now on and the changes were hard to face.

The group left the forest behind and continued walking throughout the day. They crossed miles over the course of days until they came upon a flat field of grass. As they crossed the green field of grass they heard the sound of a running water. They spotted a river that ran around the field. The group walked towards the cold running river to refill their leather water canteens.

"This water must come from somewhere," Adam said.

"Over there, genius," Star pointed. "I think that's were the water comes from," She added, pointing with her finger.

The rest of the group looked to where Star was pointing and saw what she was referring to. There, only a couple of miles from where they sat, stood a single mountain. A black peak covered white with snow. That was the place where the Evil Eye Monastery.

The group gathered their stuff and got back on the road. After leaving the last patch of green behind them they stepped into the dried up dirt ground. It was like they were walking from one world into the another one. The green pastures were now behind them and now they were walking down a grey dirt road. The sun was on top of the group when they reached the foot of the mountain.

Adam looked forward and saw the path that lead towards the mountain where the Monastery of the Evil Eye found its sanctuary. The group walked through the path covered with dirt and small rocks as they hiked higher up the mountain. There were large rocks on either side of the path with dried up trees with roots wrapped around the rocks under them. Unlike the forest they had just left, the path was colored grey and brown with little to no plants around them.

"Why doesn't anything grow around here?" Jackie asked.

"Don't know, maybe the ground isn't capable of giving enough nutrients to make any green stuff grow," Janna explained.

"Also, the temperature isn't warm enough," Kelly added, as she could see her breath.

As the team continued on their path to the monastery, more and more snow gathered around them. The wind blew cold against the group. They shivered as the cold temperature surrounded their bodies.

"It'll only get colder from her on out," Adam said as he pulled his cloak tight around his body. "Stick close. Star could you whip up that protection spell, please."

"What's the magic word?" Star asked smugly.

"He already said please," Kelly said as the cold wind blew against them.

"He didn't meant it," Star said, like a child.

Adam shivered as his left eye twitched in slight anger.

"I _meant _every word, Star," Adam said, cackling his teeth as the rest of the group shivered from the cold.

"Yeah, my cackling knees can attest to that," Jackie said.

"Hold on, I may have something to warm us up," Janna said, rummaging through her bag. "Here we go," She said, pulling out a vile with a red liquid inside it.

"What's that?" Jackie asked.

"This my watery hot friend is a warming potion," Jann explained as she uncorked the vile. "One drink of this will warm you up like a thick wool coat."

"There's a 'but' coming, isn't there?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, sugar daddy," Janna replied.

Adam blinked in confusion at the nickname that Janna just used while Jackie giggled, Kelly's face blushed and Star just rolled her eyes out of boredom.

"The problem is that this is the only vile, and if we split it the effects will only last for about," Janna explained as she did the math in her head. "...a forth of how long it should last. Twenty-five minutes tops. Sorry my dudes," She said.

Adam turned to the mountain, barely catching a glimpse of the monastery.

"We'll have to make do with what we've got," Adam said.

"Hey, hold on. Aren't you going to try to kiss up to me so that I use my magic?" Star asked confused.

Adam didn't respond as he turned to Janna.

"You're the boss, Adam," Jann said before handing the vile to Adam.

"He's not the boss, he's just some human," Star said. "Don't you guys remember every messed up thing they've done to us. How they destroy our forests to make their kingdoms. How they pollute our rivers and hunt us. We should take care of them, permanently," She glared at Adam.

Adam didn't reply to Star's statement. He gave the vile to Jackie first.

Jackie took a short swig of the potion before giving it to Janna who did the same thing. As the warm liquid was poured down their throats, their bodies began to feel warm. The cold air was now no more than a cool breeze.

"Are any of you listening to me?" Star asked.

"Sadly, princess, we hear you loud and clear," Kelly said before Janna handed her the vile. "But that doesn't mean we care."

Kelly drank her portion of the vile before handing it to Adam for the final chug.

"Hey, don't I get a swig of the potion?" Star asked.

"You can conjure up a magic shield to protect yourself from the elements," Adam said. "You don't need the potion, we do," He added before taking his swig of the potion.

Adam gave Janna back her vile as the potion began to take effect in him.

"Alright, we're on the clock now guys," Janna said. "Let's move out!" She added, pointing onwards with her broom.

Adam, Jackie and Kelly joined Janna in their walk up the mountain.

Star stood in shock as the rest of the group went on to their destination. She balled her fists and gritted her teeth. She'd never been contradicted in her life by anyone that was under her. She believed that the other girls should've bowed to her and listened to her every word as if it were a command. She stomped towards the group, her eyes narrowed. She glared daggers at the group, hoping that her visual anger and disapproval to make a dent in their armor.

Adam noticed that the Fablefolk princess was glaring at them from behind. Fighting her and talking to her like an adult was not working, so he decided to try something else.

"Glaring at us from the back isn't going to change the way we talked to you," Adam sighed. "But you can't just demand respect if you haven't earned it."

"Well excuse me, but I am a princess," Star stated. "I have the power of magic at my beck and call, a power that by the way was given to me by birthright. I've got the right and the power to bend the world to my will. The royal family is a symbol of power and purity to all Fablefolk. My mom may like sitting on her big ass, but I like to take matters into my own hands," She said with some underlying bloodlust in her voice.

"Star, we're trying to stop the incoming war, not accelerate it," Adam said. "And when it comes to magic, I'll repeat this until I'm blue in the face: It isn't a toy. Just because you can use it, it doesn't mean that you should use it for every menial thing that comes into your mind. You should use it only if you need to, knowing that you can do something doesn't mean that you should use it every single time," He explained.

Star rolled her eyes in annoyance. She'd heard this same speech from her mom her whole life and she was tiered of having her desires denied. She narrowed her eyes at Adam, not seeing the reason of what made this human feel like he could talk to her like that. She wanted to blast him with her Narwal Blast and then have him kissing her feet and begging for her forgiveness.

"Stop with the speech, human, I've heard it before," Star replied. "What makes you the expert in my fate and my destiny? If you think that you're going to change me or manipulate my destiny, well I've got news for you, human, I won't let you," Star added.

"What? I'm not-" Adam asked confused.

"You heard me," Star said before brushing past him in a hurry. "Now get out of my way before I send you to another dimension."

"She appears to be cheerful," Jackie said, walking next to Adam.

Adam let out another tiered sigh. He wanted to give Star a chance but she wasn't making it any easier. The best he could do now was that she could help them get the book and find her aunt. That was the best he could hope for.

The walk up the mountain was taking its toll on the group. Their breaths were short and their bodies weren't as warm as they were after five minutes. The sun was at its apex and the cold wind blew against the group. Every step was a challenge. The group had to stomp their feet to break the layer of snow to get a proper footing. The cold snow and the stone that made up the mountain were a harsh path to follow for the group.

Adam looked up and spotted a glistening light up ahead. He narrowed his eyes, hoping to improve his sight. He moved his hand above his eyes, shielding his eyes from the light. Slowly the figure ahead of him was visible. Up ahead of the group was none other than the Evil Eye Monastery.

"We're getting close!" Adam called his friends. "The monastery is a little further ahead."

"Hopefully we get a friendly reception," Jackie said as they continued to walk towards the monastery.

"With our luck, I wouldn't bet on it," Janna replied.

"I hate to admit it but she's right," Kelly added. "But don't worry, after all this is over, we'll go to my favorite pub and get the reward that we deserve."

"That sounds nice, I hope you don't mind me going with you," Adam said.

"Sure, we might have to cover that scent of human but I think you've earned it," Kelly said, chuckling with Adam and the rest of the group.

Well, all save for Star. She was huffing and glaring at the group all the way from the back.

As the group got closer and closer to the monastery the ground became leveled before they arrived at the entrance steps.

The steps were made out of black stone and were worn from the cold winds and the snow. Parts of the steps were cracked and some were even missing. The steps were arranged like a jagged line, zigzagging from right to left until it reached the entrance that resembled the face of a man with a frown, eyes that followed all who would enter and with a large crystal in its forehead.

"Anyone else feels like we're stepping into the wolf's mouth?" Janna asked.

"Yep," Adam replied.

"Totally," Jackie added.

"I can see why they named this place the 'Evil Eye Monastery'," Kelly pointed out. "This doesn't seem very hospitable or welcoming."

"Well, my aunt said she'd be coming here so let's go already," Star said pushing the group through the entrance. "You want this to be over with, remember?"

The group crossed the entrance and found themselves in a patio covered in snow. The patio was squared in an outline with five shrines in the middle of it. They each were like miniature houses made out of stone, with bell-shaped roofs and stain glass windows on the sides of the shrines. On each corner of the shrines there were statues of the same being. The statues were shaped like a bald, bearded man wearing long robes with a jewel in his forehead.

"Wow, someone really likes bald men statues," Adam pointed out.

"You know, the faces on those statues are scattered all over the place," Janna said, causing everyone to look around. "That's a bit spooky, and I'm usually all for spooky."

"This must be the interpretation of what Glossaryck would've looked like," Jackie said, kneeling in front of one of the statues.

"He does live up to his nickname of 'the Mad Monk'," Kelly muttered.

Star looked at the statues with a smile crawling onto her face. She recognized the crazy entity with ease. She had to admit that the design was pretty close to the original, it really caught his infinite wisdom. Only the wise Glossaryck would see the greatness within her. She turned her sights to Adam before she narrowed her eyes. She had yet to come up with a way to use her magic to free herself from the bonding and was getting desperate. She took another step but was met with a 'chink' sound. Star looked down to see what she had just kicked. She moved some of the snow out of the way, revealing a sword handle. She reached for it and pulled it out of the snow. She held in her hands an old short ceremonial dagger. The straight blade was a little worn out and the handle was wrapped with leather. Star traced her finger against the blade before feeling a pain flare up in her finger. She looked at the cut on her finger. A smile appeared on her face, the blade was still quite sharp. Upon seeing her wound, an idea popped in Star's mind. She placed both of her arms behind her back before slowly walking towards Adam.

Star slowly moved towards Adam while the rest of the girls were busy looking around. She tightened her grip. She was only two steps away from Adam. Two steps away from her freedom and her destiny.

"You guys hear that?" Adam asked, making Star stop on her tracks.

The rest of the group stayed quiet, hoping to hear the noise that Adam had heard.

"I don't hear anything," Kelly said. "And I've got some keen hearing."

"Exactly, there are no noises here," Adam said.

The rest of the group noticed that there was indeed not a single noise in the monastery. There weren't even bird calls to be heard. Not even the wind.

"What's the big deal about that?" Star asked trying to get the group off of the topic.

"Shouldn't a monastery have someone looking out for it?" Jackie asked.

At that moment, some snow fell down behind the group.

The group turned around, looking at the roof where the snow had fallen from. Suddenly, a figure jumped up and landed in between the group, creating a green energy shockwave that sent them all back.

Adam and the rest of the group landed on their backs, painfully. They grunted as they struggled to get back up.

Adam looked up and got a good look at the attacker. The figure wore a dark moss green dress with a long cloak over it, thick leather boots and a black mask wrapped around her lower face. He noticed the figure's body, figuring out that the attacker was a woman. She had light purple hair with the sides shaved, pointy ears, and her arms were covered in purple striped fur and her clawed hands were surrounded by light green magic.

The attacker slowly stood up, keeping her crimson eyes set on the people around her.

"Trespassers will be destroyed, leave now and never come back," the woman demanded.

"No wonder this place is deserted," Adam grunted, pulling out his sword. "With a reception like that anyone would leave this place in a hurry."

"She's using magic, be careful," Kelly said, turning into her beast form.

"Thanks, for the heads up," Jackie replied, pulling out her daggers from her belt.

The mysterious woman looked at her enemies, narrowing her eyes at the curious entourage of beings that surrounded her.

"What are Fablefolk doing with a human?" the woman asked.

"That's a long story," Adam replied.

"You may tell me everything," the woman said. "As you all roll down the mountain like a bunch of snowballs!"

The mysterious woman charged at Jackie, Janna and Kelly with green colored magic flaring on her arms. The girls dodged the attack by rolling out of the way before the woman struck down her fists charged with magic. The woman turned around just as Adam charged against her with his sword held high.

Adam jumped and brought down his sword against the mysterious woman. She rolled out of the way, avoiding the blade. Adam countered with a horizontal slash at the mysterious woman, forcing her to jump back. The woman then fired a blast of green magical energy. Adam dodged under the blast just as it burnt through one of the shrines.

Kelly tackled back the mysterious woman in her beast form sending her to the ground. The mysterious woman struggled against Kelly's strong grip pinning her down.

"Stay down!" Kelly demanded.

"You get off!" The mysterious woman snapped, as her hands were coated with green magic.

The mysterious woman blasted Kelly off of her, but not before Kelly removed the mask from her face.

Janna quickly casted a small spell of wind.

"_Oh wind, spin around out of my mind, and stall my friend's fall,_" Janna chanted before sweeping the snow in front of her with her broom.

A small whirlwind spun out from Janna's broom before catching Kelly. The wind placed the hound on the ground safely.

"You ok?" Janna asked.

"I'll live," Kelly replied before taking a look at the piece of cloth in her hand.

Kelly looked up at the mysterious woman as she got back up. She then saw her fully uncovered face.

The mysterious woman had fair skin with clover cheek marks and fangs in her mouth.

"I said. Get! Out!" the mysterious woman screamed as her eyes glowed a ghostly green.

The mysterious woman fired another blast of green magic directly towards Janna and Kelly.

Janna grabbed hold of Kelly and quickly took to the sky, flying away from the blast of magic. She landed behind one of the shrines, avoiding the blasts of magic.

Adam jumped in once more with his sword. He swung it quickly against the woman as she fired more blasts of green magic. He ducked and weaved, avoiding the attacks with only a couple of scorch marks on his right shoulder, left thigh and right side. He gritted his teeth, holding back the burning pain from stopping him. He closed in on the mysterious woman before swinging his sword against her. The mysterious woman stepped back as Adam attacked her. She dodged the attack before firing another blast of green magic. Adam spun around where he stood, avoiding the blast by an inch.

Adam yelped in pain before turning back to the mysterious woman. She fired another blast of energy at Adam, hitting him square on the chest. He was sent back before landing on the snow covered ground. The woman jumped at Adam with magic covering her fists. She lifted her arms high before slamming them against the ground. Adam rolled out of the way before she could slam against him. He pushed himself back to his feet with his sword as support before glaring at the woman in front of him.

The mysterious woman was just about to attack, when Jackie cut her shoulder with one of her daggers. She cried out in pain, holding her left arm as if it had been struck by a lit torch. The burning sensation coursed through the mysterious woman's left arm while she glared at Jackie. She back handed the mermaid away, only to be tackled by Adam.

They fell to the ground with Adam trying to hold the woman down. The woman pushed him off, but Adam was ready this time. He spun his legs around, getting back to his feet. He held his sword ready to thrust at his opponent's neck, stopping the woman from trying anything. The rest of the group gathered around him, ready to attack the woman should she decide to attack them.

"Who are you and why do you want to kill us?" Adam demanded, holding his sword tightly.

"Enough!" Another voice called out, getting the attention of the group.

Suddenly a purple energy with black butterflies surrounded Adam and the rest of the group. They floated up, separating them from the mysterious woman. The group struggled against the magic holding them. They waved their arms and legs but to no avail. They were suspended in the air, like leaves on top of a pond of water.

"What is this?" Adam asked.

"A magical holding spell," Janna replied.

"But who casted it?" Jackie asked.

"I think I know," Kelly said, trying to point to the source of the magic.

The group turned their sights to the right and got a glimpse at the caster. The caster was a pale woman with sea foam green hair with spade cheek marks on her face. She wore a purple dress under a black cloak like the other woman, dark pants with leather shoes on her feet, and elbow long purple gloves. She held out her right hand with purple energy emanating from it. This was Eclipsa, The Queen of Darkness.

"Are you alright, honey?" Eclipsa asked, kneeling next to the other woman. "Did they hurt you?"

"I had it under control, mom," the younger woman replied, before casted a spell to heal her wound.

"Wait a minute... Oh aunt Eclipsa!?" Star called out. "Is that you?"

Eclipsa turned up to see Star.

"Star? What are you doing here, sweetie?" Eclipsa asked.

"Oh, just hanging around," Star replied. "Could you put _me _down please?"

Eclipsa did as Star asked and only brought her down.

"Hey, what about us?" Jackie asked.

"Oh, are they your friends, Star?" Eclipsa asked.

"Not really, especially not the human," Star shrugged.

"Hey!" Adam snapped.

"You can kill him if you want," Star said off-handedly.

"Wait! NO! Queen Eclipsa, my name is Kelly, I'm a hound of King River," Kelly said. "We were just defending ourselves. Please we mean you no harm!"

Eclipsa looked at them for a moment before dropping them to the ground. They slowly got back up in pain.

Adam looked up at the terrifying beauty of the Queen of Darkness.

"You have a minute to explain yourselves," Eclipsa said. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Adam was the first one to fully regain his composure.

"My name is Adam Lakestone, and these are my friends, Jackie, Janna and Kelly," Adam introduced them. "We come here seeking the Gospel of Glossaryck."

Eclipsa glared at them.

"So that we can prevent a war!" Adam quickly added, holding up his hands in defense.

Eclipsa looked at them in confusion, she got a good look at Adam noting that there was something familiar about him.

"My name is Eclipsa Butterfly, and this here is my daughter Meteora. Please, tell me everything," Eclipsa said, before motioning them to the other part of the temple. "Follow me inside. I need to know what has happened since I left court."

As the group was following Eclipsa deep into the temple, Meteora glanced at Adam. She couldn't help but find him attractive. He was the first boy she'd seen in a long time. Adam noticed this and decided to speak up.

"I'm sorry for attacking you," Adam said.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Jackie added.

"Oh, nah, it was a scratch at best," Meteora said, trying to appear tough.

"So you're Star's cousin?" Adam asked.

"I don't see the resemblance, if I'm honest." Jackie added.

"Yeah, I get my good looks from my mom," Meteora replied. "But she says I take after my dad a little bit."

Eclipsa couldn't help but overhear the conversation. A smile crept on her face as she was reminded of how she and her husband first met. She couldn't help but see her husband's humble yet brave nature on the young man. He was quite handsome for human standards. Their meeting was very similar, one attacking the other and then falling in love at first sight. But she'd have to play love maker later, now there were some other matters to attend to.


	14. Chapter 14

The group was lead deep into the monastery by Eclipsa. She held out her hand, casting a spell that ignited all the torches. The lit torches illuminated the cold and damp corridor and revealed what the darkness hid. The group looked at the walls of the corridor and were surprised to see all sorts of images painted on the stone. The smoke and tips of the flames licked the top of the corridor roof, but didn't do anything to the paintings. One of the paintings depicted legions of lizard-like beings bowing down to a depiction of Glossaryck that floated on top of a large fire. Another painting showed a large tower with a red blood moon rising behind it. Another painting showed ancient primordial beasts battling each other. Another painting showed a great battle with both Fablefolk and humans battling one another. And the final painting showed a large skull with butterfly wings sprouting on either side of it floating above hordes of bones piled under it.

"Whoa, what are these?" Adam asked, looking at the different paintings on the walls.

"They look like ancient paintings," Kelly said.

"Wow, I wanna meet whoever made the ones of the creepy lizards burning stuff," Janna said.

"Yes, these paintings all show the ancient story of the world. The time before the rise of King Oberon and the rise of both races," Eclipsa said. "Now, Star I believe you owe me an explanation."

"Yeah, cousin, what's going on here?" Meteora asked.

"Well, I was minding my own business when this human-" Star began before Janna covered her hand.

"Adam brought her into the city of Echo Creek by not knowing that she was Fablefolk and she sort of started to blow stuff up and set other things on fire," Janna explained as she kept her hand on Star's mouth. "They kind of set off the possibility of a war."

"Traitor!" Star snapped after pulling Janna's hand off of her.

"And that's the abridged version," Kelly said.

Eclipsa and Meteora looked at Star in horror. Their mouths hung open with their eyes open in utter shock. If a fly were to come across them then they would be coughing right about now.

"Star! Please tell me that's not true," Eclipsa begged with desperation in her eyes.

"Wow, Star," Meteora said. "Somehow I figured that out of the two of us, I'd be the one to cause trouble."

"Oh come on, Meteora I've gotten in worse things before," Star shrugged off. "Remember when I rode a unicorn through the castle hallways and the throne room? Or the time that I burnt that horrible dress my mom made me wear for that dumb tea party?"

"Are you seriously comparing riding a unicorn through the castle to starting a war?" Adam asked. "What am I saying, of course she would," He mumbled.

"Those things aren't even in the same category," Jackie mumbled.

"Star, I love your spunky rebel attitude, but this isn't the same as you disturbing the Butterfly Tea Party. This is serious," Eclipsa told Star in an unusually authoritarian tone, like a mother applying discipline to their child. "And what's worse, this means that it'll start soon. Sooner than I hoped."

"Queen Eclipsa, what are you talking about?" Adam asked, looking at Eclipsa the Queen of Darkness.

Eclipsa looked at one of the paintings on the walls, the one of the lizard beings praying to Glossaryck.

"It happened thousands of years ago..." Eclipsa said as a light came out of her palm.

* * *

_"There was an ancient civilization of lizard-like beings called the Septarians," _Eclipsa narrated.

In a land far from where the group and the monastery stood, a vast desert stretched as far as the horizon. The arid orange sand was the home of the ancient Septarian race. A kingdom made out of stones far from any other civilization. Three great pyramids with four-sided flat tops casted a large shadow on the long lost kingdom.

_"They were a powerful race that sought to understand the mysteries of the universe and all that was beyond. They tried to reach for the great magic that existed beyond their reality," _Eclipsa explained. _"They were great warriors and philosophers, that through the use of their ancient magic broke through the rift between __dimensions. They gazed into a dark abyss and all the horrors that existed in the abyss. But one of those beings looked into their civilization."_

In the heart of the desert kingdom the lizard-like beings walked on two feet and wore ancient loincloths and golden bracelets. They all got down on their knees and bowed down as a lizard man with grey colored scales came out from the pyramid wearing a black robe tied with a red belt around his waist, he had his hair pulled back.

The priest held up his arms, causing the rest of the Septarians to chant as a large green fire was lit behind him. He turned around as an image came from the fire. The image twisted into that of the face of Glossaryck.

_"The being we know as Glossaryck the Mad Monk commanded this civilization into doing his biding," _Eclipsa explained. _"He chose the mightiest warrior amongst them to be his herald, his name was Toffee. He promised the Septarian all the power and knowledge that he desired."_

The priest raised his head as Glossaryck instructed him.

_"But it was all a lie," _Eclipsa added.

The once great civilization, now laid in ruins. Buildings were set ablaze by green fires, bodies laid scattered in pools of blood, and Toffee dropped to his knees. He watched the carnage as Glossaryck laughed, surrounded by a black dragon with green fire coming out of its mouth. The dragon was covered in black scales, with two curved horns that pointed back, and razor sharp fangs coated in fire. It had two massive wings that obscured the stars and octopus tentacles that wrapped and coiled around the pyramids.

_"Glossaryck manipulated Toffee's desires to free his great weapon, The Darkness. A dragon made out of madness that empowers him," _Eclipsa explained. _"After he destroyed the Septarians, Toffee used what little mystic knowledge he had to banish both Glossaryck and The Darkness back into the dark abyss that they had come from. He spent the rest of his days driven mad for his actions."_

* * *

"But the damage was done, Glossaryck and his children found another way into our world," Eclipsa said as the group continued to walk down the corridor. "They passed themselves off as benevolent deities when in truth, they were spirits of chaos and entropy. They used their influence to start conflict and wars all for their own amusement. But all was not lost. The gods of old took note of this and banished Glossaryck with the aid of one of his children. Now all that's left of his legacy is the Gospel. The accursed book that lies at the end of this corridor."

The group were shocked at the story.

Adam was sure that there was a conspiracy of some kind but he never thought that the Mad Monk was actually a being of chaos. Jackie was holding onto Adam's arm, wondering what would happen next. Kelly looked down shame, remembering that when she was younger she was thrilled by conflict and battle. Janna voiced her thoughts.

"Wow, that's messed up," Janna said.

Star stayed quiet as she held on to the dagger that she had snatched from the shrines. She couldn't believe what lies her aunt was speaking. Glossaryck wasn't some creature that thrived in chaos, he was a wise man.

"Come on, aunty, you can't honestly believe this nonsense? Glossaryck brought the great power of magic to our kind and helped us rule for generations," Star boasted. "How could someone be evil after doing all that?"

Eclipsa sighed disappointedly. How could her cousin's own child be this stubborn and irrational in all the wrong ways. She admitted that she loved her rebellious attitude when she was younger, she was no better at her age, but she had hoped that she would learn from that phase and become a better queen because of it. But for some reason that Eclipsa couldn't understand, Star had become an insufferable pain.

"Are you seriously defending that monster?" Jackie asked. "Didn't you hear the story!?"

"If a stranger were to give you poison and told you it's candy would you still think defend him?" Adam asked.

"Star for god's sake, think for once," Kelly said.

"A gift from the devil may be a gift, but that doesn't change the fact of where it came," Janna added.

"I'm with them, Star, and they tried to kill me not that long ago," Meteora said, crossing her arms.

Star felt as if the room was closing in on her. The way that these people were talking to her as if she were a mere commoner. Even her own cousin wasn't giving her the respect that she deserved. She turned to her aunt, the only adult that would be by her side no matter what.

"Eclipsa, please tell them that they're exaggerating," Star said. "You can't tell me that having magic and ruling has never been like a dream, right?"

Eclipsa let out a sigh.

"Star, I never asked to be a queen, all I wanted was to live peacefully with my family," Eclipsa said. "It took me a lot to learn that having power and knowing how to use it are two different things. We need to destroy the Gospel of Glossaryck and then we'll go back to Butterfly castle, to tell everything that has happened to your mother," She said without a second thought.

"What!? But why!?" Star asked.

"Because if we don't then Glossaryck will use the chaos to awaken the Darkness and set it loose upon our world once more. He's a god of chaos, and he thrives off of it and a war has that in spades," Eclipsa explained. "We need to prevent that from happening. I've seen enough blood for my time."

Star was about to say something, but Adam stood between her and Eclipsa.

"Your aunt is right, Star, we need to prevent Glossaryck from destroying the world," Adam explained. "Then we fix our mess."

"You mean, _your _mess!" Star snapped at Adam. "I wasn't the one that took me to the stupid human city!"

"ENOUGH!" Eclipsa snapped, causing everyone to look at her.

Adam could feel the power that coursed through Eclipsa's body. He could see why she was called the Queen of Darkness. She would've killed him back at the shrine with ease. He would pray to all the other gods of old to stay on her good graces.

"Star, this isn't up for discussion," Eclipsa said. "We stop Glossaryck and stop your mother from going along with this war. I'll be sure to drill responsibility into your thick skull. It is high time someone did," She said turning and walking down the corridor.

Star was shocked. How could her aunt of all people talk to her like that? Her aunt had always been on her side and now she was turning against her. She didn't know how this could've happened. Her eyes then landed on Adam as the group made their way deeper down the corridor. She frowned at the mere sight of him. He was the cause of it all. His meddling had set her destiny down the drain. If he had never crossed her path then she would be the great queen of the Fablefolk and none would question her authority. She gripped the dagger tightly, turning her hand pale white by how hard she was holding it. She slowly walked with the rest of the group, she knew what she had to do to secure her fate before it was denied by those that foolishly sought to control her.

She would take the destiny that she desired, no matter what.

* * *

Far from the lonely mountain where the group was, in the war council of the Fablefolk queen, Moon Butterfly was going over the combat plans. She was going through different scrolls that told her how the human armies were gathering near the city of Echo Creek. She let out a sigh, and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She had gone over the scroll several times and she still couldn't shake the idea that something was missing.

"My love," A voice called, bringing Moon out of her thoughts.

Moon turned around and saw River holding her helmet and his own in his arms.

"I thought that you might need some company," River said, before placing the helmets on a chest next to the entrance.

"Thank you, River. I hate to admit it, but I just can't help but think that something is amiss," Moon sighed as River sat next to her.

River held his wife's hand.

"Neither of us are strangers to war," River said. "We will see this through together. I just hope that Star is somewhere safe."

"I hope so too, my love. But now I can't help but wonder if I did something wrong in raising her," Moon said.

"My love?" River asked.

"It's just, I hoped that she would be more like me when I was her age," Moon sighed. "Focused, responsible, but still holding on to that wild flicker. Now however, I fear that all my actions have only pushed her away."

"Moon, please do not say that," River begged, looking at his wife in the eye. "I admit that Star is a bit too much some times, but you cannot turn your back on her."

"I know, but I cannot help but feel like something is wrong," Moon said, pulling out a pendant from her armor. "Remember when we sat for this portrait?"

"I remember, Star hated posing for it," River laughed. "A five hour ordeal turned into a week-long mess."

Moon smiled at the portrait inside the pendant. In the portrait stood her, River and Star wearing their royal clothes. A reminder of happier times for the queen at the time.

Oh, how she wished she could go back to those times.

* * *

The group followed Eclipsa until they came upon a large red door with the maddening symbol of Glossaryck painted on it.

"This is it," Eclipsa said. "Behind this door is the Gospel of Glossaryck."

"Why haven't you destroyed it?" Adam asked. "Surely someone as powerful as you could destroy that damn book with a snap of your fingers."

"That's a good point," Jackie said.

"Believe me, I've tried to destroy that damn thing many times over," Eclipsa said, her eyes reddening and on the verge of tears. "But magic and a pure blooded Fablefolk cannot touch it. Only weapons of iron or blessed can destroy it. Your arrival is a good omen, Adam Lakestone. You have no magic and your weapon is made of iron. All you need to do is destroy the book, and I'll speak with my cousin to tell her what has truly happened."

Adam looked at Eclipsa, her words were clear and simple. He gazed into her eyes and saw that she wanted to clear things as best as she could. If he did this, then the nightmare would be over.

"Queen Eclipsa, you have my word that I'll destroy that book if it stops this war," Adam said. "So I have your word of helping me, help us stop the war?"

Eclipsa stretched out her right arm, presenting her hand to Adam.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Eclipsa replied with a slight hint of flirt. "And please, call me Eclipsa. I'm not a queen anymore."

"Mom," Meteora groaned in embarrassment, covering her own blush.

Adam took her hand with his own.

They shook on their promise before they turned to the large door. Adam helped Eclipsa push the door open. The group stepped into the chamber where the Gospel was being held. They all stood on the black tone room, hearing the water running below them. They spotted the Gospel of Glossaryck at the top of the pedestal at the other end of the room.

"Alright, so, I just take it and cut it to pieces with my sword?" Adam asked. "Or do I have to say something?"

"Just cut it into as many little pieces as you can," Eclipsa clarified. "No need for ceremonial procedures."

Adam looked back to the girls that he had come to see as friends and loved ones.

Jackie gave him a reassuring look before placing her hand on his shoulder.

Adam gave her a smile before turning to the book. He stepped towards the little pedestal that held the Gospel of Glossaryck. He gripped his sword's handle to the point that his hand was sweating. Adam couldn't help it, everything seemed to be riding on his shoulders. He rose up the steps before unsheathing his sword. All this could be over with a single swing of his sword. He lifted his sword above his head and got ready to split the damned book in two.

Just as Adam was about to bring down his sword, a hiss echoed in the chamber. Everyone looked around for the source of the hissing.

"Do you have reptiles here?" Janna asked.

"At this temperature?" Kelly asked. "No reptile could survive it."

"I don't recognize it," Meteora added.

"We've been here for months and this is the first time that hissing has been heard," Eclipsa said with a worried tone.

Kelly paid attention to the hissing as it turned into a snarl. Her eyes widen. She recognized that damn noise.

"We've got company!" Kelly screamed before an explosion blew the doors off their old hinges.

The group ducked, avoiding the flying doors by a mere couple of inches.

As they got back up, the smoke had been cleared and a maniacal cackle joined the reptilian hissing. A very maniacal laughter. At the entrance to the chamber was none other than Mina Loveberry standing right next to the savage lizard Rasticore. She stepped into the chamber followed by two other knights and Rasticore putting the rest of the group on edge.

"Well, well-ty well, look what we have here? A bunch of Fable-freaks and a traitor desecrating the holy monastery of the great Glossaryck," Mina cackled. "If I were you I'd pray for your disgusting lives, but we all know you'd be lucky to leave this place with your feet still attached to your dirty bodies." She added laughing.

Jackie pulled out her daggers from her belt and crouched down in a defensive stance. Janna created her magic circle to cast a spell with her hand. And Kelly turned into her wild beastial form, aching for another chance to fight against Rasticore and his insane master.

"Just who the hell are you people?" Meteora asked, channeling her green magic into her fists.

"Warriors of the Sun, the order of knights that are suppose to protect the Children of Man against any threat," Eclipsa said, remembering her past battles against these warriors. "Although, I'm fairly certain that these warriors are only wearing those armors out of convenience rather than actual duty. You serve a different master, don't you?" She asked, pointing menacingly at Mina and her knights.

"What?" Adam asked, unsure of what Eclipsa had meant.

Mina laughed at Eclipsa's words.

"You're pretty sharp for a glorified figure head and protector of our master's gate," Mina chuckled, gripping her badge of captain. "We are here to ensure that our master Glossaryck returns to this world, to bring back the glory long taken from those deserving. And for that we need to bring upon the Darkness! You know how much crap and dirty work we had to put up with to make the setting for a war so ripe for picking!? And for that we've come to take back the Gospel, the gate and the key!" She explained as she tore off the badge, crushing it in her palm.

Adam's eyes widen even more.

"What? You're telling me that all this time you've been trying to start a war between humans and the Fablefolk?" Adam asked unable to believe what he was hearing. "Just how mad are you people!? Don't you realize that bringing the Darkness will cause?"

"The weak will die and the strong will rule the world, the impure will be burnt to a crisp and the ones that follow Glossaryck's will shall bask in ever lasting glory," Mina said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "What else is there to expect?"

"Well, that sells it, these guys are just as coo coo as their boss," Janna replied.

"How did you get away from Hekapoo, she would've kicked your ass twice over?" Adam added, holding back the urge to face the crazy captain.

"Oh, don't worry about your flame whore. She's enjoying her stay in Chateau De Crystal," Mina laughed, pulling out a purple crystal from her cloak.

Inside the purple crystal was Hekapoo trying to break out.

"Rhombulous, decided to trap his little sister in his former amulet before returning to the dark pit that bore him into existence," Mina chuckled.

"Please, someone shut her up!" Hekapoo called out from within the crystal. "She just won't shut up! It's like she loves the sound of her own voice."

"Quiet you, Flame whore!" Mina snapped at Hekapoo before throwing the crystal away.

Eclipsa quickly caught the crystal.

"Are you alright, Hekapoo?" Eclipsa asked.

"I'll be fine, but you need to get out of here before it's too late," Hekapoo warned.

"Now, let us show these fools the power that Glossaryck has given us!" Mina said.

Mina and her soldiers were surrounded by a pure light blue aura of power. The aura pooled around their feet in a circle before blasting upwards in a column of spinning light blue fire. The flames were so intense that the black chamber was illuminated by the pale light. The group covered their eyes with their hands and arms, trying to prevent the light from burning their sight away and leaving them blind.

The light died down, allowing the group to look at their enemies with their eyes still stinging from the blast of light. But as soon as their eyes adjusted to the returning darkness, they hoped that their sight was playing tricks on them.

Mina had been transformed into a large hulking monster with large muscles, sharp teeth, white eyes and pointy ears. Her pony tails were now longer and resembled whips sticking out of her head.

Her knights looked even more monstrous, their skins were burning red with their muscles breaking the skin. Their eyes were orange and full of insanity. Their hands had grown sharp nails and they grunted like wild animals. They were now power high puppets to their primal ambitions.

Adam couldn't believe his eyes. These were meant to be knights, the best warriors that could serve humanity. To protect it.

"Yeah, I think Adam dodged a bullet by not joining these nut jobs," Kelly whispered, getting replying nods from Jackie and Janna.

"Surprised, are you?" Mina chuckled in a deep distorted voice. "THIS is the raw power that Glossaryck has promised his faithful! The power to destroy any and all that dare stand in the way of the real world! NOW, Key and Door, come to us and fulfill your destiny!"

"Not if this book is destroyed!" Adam replied, turning around ready to strike the Gospel of Glossaryck.

"Adam, NO!" Hekapoo screamed.

* * *

Crack.

Moon Butterfly heard something break. She reached for her pendant. She opened it and saw a crack running across the portrait.

"Oh, no," Moon muttered. "Star, what have you done?"

* * *

Adam dropped his sword, as a dagger passed through his chest. He stared down at the dagger, as he felt a warm liquid coming out of his mouth. He slowly turned his head, trying to see his assassin.

"Why?" Adam asked.

"My destiny will not be taken from me," Star replied, pulling out the dagger coated in blood.

Adam dropped to his knees in pain, coughing up blood. The words that Hekapoo told him echoed in his mind, like an answer that had been avoiding you up until the moment you needed it most.

_"Beware the weakness of a pure heart as it will open the gate to darkness..."_


	15. Chapter 15

"Star! What did you do!?" Eclipsa demanded with a look of horror.

The group looked in horror as the princess that had traveled with them for so long had just stabbed their friend. Of all the things that she had done, this was by far the most cold-blooded. The world seemed to stop in its tracks as they saw Adam holding his chest in pain as blood pooled around, staining his shirt and hand.

"I reclaimed my freedom, Eclipsa," Star replied. "And all it took was one human life, that was easier than I thought."

Star looked at her right hand and watched as the bonding mark faded away. She was no longer bonded with the human under her. A smile crept on her face until it reached ear to ear.

"How can you say that, Star?" Meteora asked. "He isn't some bug that you squash and don't think about. Adam is a person, damn it!"

A laugh made the group turn around to see Mina and her monsters creeping ever closer to them. Mina laughed as if she'd just heard the joke of the day.

Eclipsa fired a magical blast at the leader of the knights. The blast didn't face her. Mina continued chuckling.

"She gets it! Don't you princess?" Mina said, looking at Star with her toothy grin. "You know what's to come and you want your fair share of it, don't you? Cut loose from the damn status quo and make everything the way you want it to be!"

"Star... don't do this," Adam struggled out, coughing some blood. "They'll kill everyone."

Star looked down on Adam with a bored expression. She heard what he was saying, but it just didn't seem good to her. She was sure of what she wanted, having power and being in control was good. People like the human under her were bad because they-he took her power away from her.

"I don't care, I will not let anyone else control my destiny," Star said, pulling Adam by his hair. "Not my mother, not you, not anyone. It was fun but I'll be making my own choices from no own."

The Jackie wanted to gut the princess. After everything that had happened and all they had heard Star was doing this to the person she cared for. The rest of the group was no better. They kept their guard up as the Warriors of the Sun drew ever closer. They wanted to attack Star and get Adam away to treat his wounds, but they needed to be ready for a sneak attack. Their anger was palpable and there was an a clear desire to make them pay.

Star dropped Adam onto the floor, making him groan in pain. She turned around and saw the Gospel of Glossaryck. The book that she needed was within her grasp. She reached out and grabbed hold of it. It was a heavy book and she could feel the power that it held. She was so tempted to see what was inside it. She wanted to gaze upon the many different spells that were written in the pages. Star opened the book and traced her fingers through the profane pages with mismatched words and symbols.

"Oh the things that we'll do together," Star said. "I cannot wait to see what I can do with this!" She said until she flipped to another page that caught her eye.

"Oh, so that's what Globgor was looking for," Star said. "This clears a lot of of things," She added, causing Eclipsa to tense up and prepare for the worst.

Back with the group, Hekapoo was trying to get Eclipsa's attention.

"Eclipsa, I know you want to stop this but you are outmatched here," Hekapoo pleaded. "The day is lost, but we can still get out of here. Adam is still alive we need to get him out of here. Do not waste _his _last breath."

Eclipsa looked down on the captured immortal. She then gazed at the ring on her wedding finger. She knew that there was no way to defeat the damn monsters that these soldiers had turned themselves into. And Adam, the young spitfire, was clinging on to dear life with whatever he still had on him. But there was something more important that she had to do. Keep her daughter safe. Eclipsa glanced at the running water below them, it was a long shot but it was the best they had to get away.

"Get my cousin, she's part of this," Star ordered.

"No!" Adam groaned, trying to get back up.

The soldiers closed in around the group.

Janna fired a ball of green fire from her magical circle at one of the soldiers, but it wasn't enough to even face the soldier.

"That's not good," Janna said as the group stepped back.

"We need to get out of here now!" Eclipsa said.

"Not without Adam," Jackie added, taking off to grab Adam.

Eclipsa gave Meteora a look. They both raised their hands and slammed them against the ground. They created a powerful blast of magic destroying the ground they were all standing on. Mina and the Warriors of the Sun jumped high using their power to fly to a safe distance as the ground collapsed below them.

Rasticore snatched Meteora and bit her, before chaining her in iron chains. He pulled her away before Mina caught her by the back of the neck.

"Meteora!" Eclipsa cried as they fell.

"MOM!" Meteora cried out, reaching for her mom's hand.

Star casted a spell under her feet, creating a cloud with wings.

Jackie used this chance and ran past the group. She grabbed hold of Adam, before giving Star one final glare.

"This isn't over," Jackie said, pulling Adam with the rest of the group.

Adam, Jackie, Janna, Kelly, Eclipsa and the captured Hekapoo fell down into the darkness of the water below them.

Star floated to where Mina and her warriors stood. She looked at Meteora, and she glared back at her cousin.

"You better hope that this crazy woman doesn't let go, Star," Meteora glared. "Because the second I'm free, you're dead."

"Yup, you definitely got your temper from your dad," Star quipped before looking at Mina. "I've got the book. Let's get what is rightfully ours!"

Mina smiled like a mad woman, thirsty for blood.

"After you, princess," Mina said, allowing Star to walk out of the room first. "We must bring out the Darkness from the heart of the city.

Once Star passed the threshold of the room, Mina, Rasticore and her knights took Meteora as she tried to flay herself free. The Darkness was to be awoken where the heart of the human city rested.

* * *

Deep below the room, the quick running waters had taken the whole group far from where they where. The ride through the waters was fast and hard to keep track. No light was there to illuminate the path and only faint silhouettes appeared before vanishing. It was indeed a ride that the group hadn't hoped to cross. Twists and turns were followed one after the other. Going right before going left and then falling down a large waterfall. They had crossed many miles in what seemed like a few minutes.

Adam drifted in and out of consciousness. He felt his body become numb and it was hard to stay a float. Jackie held his body tightly, trying to keep him conscious as the strong currents pulled them away from the monastery.

They fell from a waterfall before they were plunged deep underwater.

Eclipsa broke through the surface of the water to inhale some air as she was pushed and dragged along the current. She was followed by Janna, Kelly and Jackie as she held on to Adam.

"Is everyone alright?" Eclipsa asked as they were being dragged by the current.

"Wet and smelling like a dog, but otherwise fine," Kelly replied.

"What about Adam?" Janna asked, looking at the human.

"He's lost a lot of blood," Jackie replied, holding on to him for dear life. "We need to get him help."

Adam's eyes fluttered, showing that there was still a spark of life within him.

"The shore's that way," Eclipsa said, pointing to the shore with rocks. "We can swim for it. We can treat him there."

"Come on Adam, we need to swim a little bit," Jackie said, hoping to keep Adam awake.

The group swam towards the shore as Adam struggled to stay awake. He swung his legs barely able to move them. He felt cold as if he was becoming part of the water that was around him.

The group reached the shore and everyone was exhausted.

"There's a cave over there, we can treat him there," Janna pointed to a cave near them.

Jackie, and Kelly pulled Adam out of the water. Jackie lifted his upper body while Kelly lifted his legs.

The group entered the cave with Janna and Eclipsa creating a fire. The flames illuminated the cave, giving the group the light they needed to attend to Adam's wounds. They placed him on a makeshift bed using their cloaks bundled together to keep him in place and comfortable.

"Take off his shirt, we need to examine the wound," Eclipsa instructed. "We need to work fast, we also need to keep him warm," She added.

Jackie pulled out her dagger and cut the shirt before pulling the rest off of Adam's body. Eclipsa knelt down and created a small magical circle in front of her eye, which allowed her to see everything that that she needed. She looked at the wound before her face turned into a worried scowl.

"This is bad. He's lost a lot of blood," Eclipsa said. "Janna, help me close the wound. Jackie keep him awake. Kelly get water from the river and boil it, quickly," She instructed as Kelly ran to gather water.

Jackie took Adam's hand as Eclipsa and Janna prepared a spell.

"_Light and dark, all wounds are meant by time, burn away the wounds that have been made, Turn back the wounds of time," _Eclipsa and Janna chanted, creating a ball of light between their hands.

They moved the ball of light and placed it on Adam's chest.

The light went into the wound, illuminating the whole on Adam's chest. A warm burning feeling made Adam tighten his hand around Jackie's but it could barely be considered a hold. The wound closed as the light faded, but it didn't seem to make a change. Adam's eyes were slowly closing. The loss of blood had taken a lot out of him.

"No, he isn't waking up!" Jackie said, holding Adam's hand feeling his weak pulse.

"Crap, I must have a potion or something here," Janna muttered, rummaging through her bag only to find it almost empty. "Damn, I lost most of my stash in the river! Damn!"

Eclipsa looked at Adam's body. For a brief second, a large monster with purple fur, four eyes and a severe wound on his chest. Tears swelled on Eclipsa's eyes, she couldn't let this happen again.

"Eclipsa!" Hekapoo called out from her prison. "You need to use Globgor's last breath. You know the spell that you need to use! It's the only thing that can save him now!"

"What is she talking about?" Jackie asked.

"A forbidden spell, but if I use it the process could kill him," Eclipsa said.

"He's already dying!" Jackie said with tears in her eyes.

Eclipsa nodded before she pulled out her ring from her finger. She looked at the purple jewel on the ring. A tear rolled down her right eye. She closed her eyes before she crushed the jewel. From the remains of the jewel a blueish mist came out. Eclipsa opened her eyes, now they glowed a bright purple. Magic surrounded her hands and the mist as she chanted her last resort spell.

_"From the other side I call to you, bring back the soul from that shore. I give one final breath to reignite the flame," _Eclipsa chanted, bending the blueish mist with her magic and channeling it into Adam's body. _"__Transform the inner soul and combine. Let life be restored and let the heart, body and soul become whole once more!" _She chanted as purple lightning came out of her fingers and into Adam's body.

Jackie jumped back as the lightning struck Adam.

"Damn, woman!" Janna exclaimed out of shock.

Adam's body twisted and turned as it was enveloped by the purple lightning. He eyes snapped open. The eyes glowed blue and a bright blue light came out from the eyes and his mouth. His clothes were burnt away by the magic as he convulsed.

"What's happening to him!?" Jackie asked.

"The spell is using my husband's last breath to restore Adam's life," Eclipsa explained. "This was an ancient spell meant to save someone using the last breath of another being. But since they are not from the same species, I don't know what'll happen."

"What does that mean?" Jackie asked as the group looked at Adam's body twist and turn before it was engulfed by the blue light.

Jackie, Janna, Eclipsa and Hekapoo covered their eyes at the sudden burst of light. After two minutes of blinding light, the blue light subsided.

Hekapoo was the first one to look at what had happened.

_"For Adam Lakestone to succeed in this endeavor he must die, and through death become what he was always meant to be,"_ Hekapoo recited as she watched from her prison.

* * *

Adam couldn't see anything, everything was dark and his body felt stiff. He opened his eyes, looking at the scorched roof of a stone cave. He looked down his body to see a brown cloak on top of him. He slowly got up, grunting as his bones cracked from stiffness. The bad taste of burnt bread was in his mouth. He felt around with his tongue and touched four sharp teeth where his canine teeth where. Adam pressed his hands against the cold floor of the cave, pushing himself up. He spotted Jackie, Janna, Kelly and Eclipsa looking at the crystal that Hekapoo was trapped in.

"Guys, what is...?" Adam blurted out, getting their attention.

"Adam, hold on," Jackie said before rushing to his side.

Jackie placed her hand on Adam's chest. She steadied him as the rest of the group gathered around them.

"You need to lie down," Jackie said, pressing her hand on his chest. "Take it easy."

"Yeah, you really need to take it easy," Kelly added with everyone else giving an awkward smile.

"What are you-?" Adam asked before placing his hand on Jackie's shoulder.

Adam got a good look at his arm. The skin was now red and much meatier than before. He turned to see his other arm and saw that it was just like his right arm.

"What the?" Adam muttered before looking down to his uncovered chest.

"Adam, please, calm down," Eclipsa said.

"AH!" Adam screamed. "What happened to my body!?" he asked.

"Glad he hasn't seen the rest of it," Janna muttered, only for Kelly to shush her.

Adam quickly got to his feet and ran out towards the river, leaving his companions with worried looks.

"Yeah, he didn't take it as well as we hoped," Kelly said before they went after him.

Adam ran towards the river at speeds that he hadn't been able to run before. He saw the sun going down over the horizon. He found himself in the middle of the river before he came to a full stop. He looked down at his hands.

"What's happening with me?" Adam asked himself before the water became clear around his feet.

Adam looked past his hands at the reflection the water projected. He was looking at a strange creature, he reached towards the water as did the reflection. It then struck him, this was his reflection. His skin was now red and his muscles were now more filled out and toned. He knelt down to get a better look at his face. He now had fangs, pointy ears, orange-colored eyes, and a pair of horns coming out of his forehead and curved upwards. Adam touched the surface of the water before stepping back.

"Adam," Jackie called, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He turned around and looked at his friends. One question popped into his mind.

"What happened?" Adam asked.

"Come in and we'll tell you," Eclipsa said.

"Although, you might want to put on some pants," Janna said. "Not that we mind a look at the goods."

Adam wasn't sure what she was talking about, until he felt a breeze. He looked down and saw that he was naked. Adam then looked up and noticed that all of the women had blushes on their cheeks. He covered himself the best he could before rushing back into the cave past the women.

"He certainly inherited a good chunk from my husband's essence," Eclipsa said sultry.

"I happen to know in good authority that he was like that before hand," Janna whispered into Jackie's ear.

Jackie turned red in the face before she turned around and headed back to the cave.

* * *

Back inside the cave, Adam had put on a pair of black pants and sat in front of a fire next to Jackie and Eclipsa. He looked at his hands, still not believing that they were his.

"You've been asleep for two days," Jackie said.

"We needed to treat you and this was the only way," Eclipsa added. "If I hadn't used that spell you wouldn't be alive."

"Not that I'm ungrateful, but what happened?" Adam asked.

Jackie and the other women looked at each other.

Eclipsa looked down in shame.

"What do you remember? What's the last thing that comes to mind?" Eclipsa asked.

Adam placed his hand on his chest.

"I... I was stabbed by Star. And we were falling," Adam said. "What happened next?"

"The running currents under the monastery took us far from the mountain. After an hour or so we were able to stop and set up in this cave. I used a forbidden spell to heal you using my husband, Globgor's, final breath," Eclipsa said. "It did lead to some unexpected consequences."

Adam let out a sigh. He had been the cause for all this. He'd made a bigger mess than the one had made before.

Just then a loud grumbling noise echoed in the cave. Everyone looked at Adam, causing him look at everyone else in confusion.

Adam looked down and found the source of the noise.

"It seems like your stomach is demanding some food," Hekapoo said. "Being brought back from the edge of death and being transformed can bring upon an appetite. We should get him something to munch on," She added from the crystal with a smile.

"Not to mention the blood loss," Eclipsa chided in.

An hour later, Adam was eating like there was no tomorrow. He munched on some cooked fishes, snacked on some cheese, stuffed his mouth with berries, sniffed an apple before bitting into it and then finished all those courses with apiece of chocolate that Eclipsa had.

"Feeling better now?" Jackie asked rubbing Adam's back.

"Yeah, this new body sure eats a lot more than what I used to," Adam said. "But now I don't know what to do," He added, depressingly.

"I'm sure we can figure it out, but you must rest," Eclipsa said. "Tomorrow we'll figure out what to do next."

"Yeah, you will need to recover your strength," Kelly said.

"Great, more laying around not doing anything..." Adam muttered as Jackie led him to a makeshift bed.

Eclipsa noticed this, and sighed.

"Perhaps we all do need some shut eye," Eclipsa suggested. "It has been a couple of tense days."

The rest of the group put out the fire and went to sleep.

Adam laid on his side, shutting his eyes and tightening his hand into a fist.

* * *

Hours passed, the moon was up and everyone was asleep.

Well, almost everyone.

Adam turned his head and looked at his friends being sound asleep. He slowly got up and walked out of the cave. He looked back at the group before looking down to his feet in shame.

Jackie reached out to make sure that he was still there but noticed the spot was empty. She woke up and caught a glimpse of Adam's shadow walking away. She got up and decided to follow him.

Adam ran fast into the forest behind the cave. The cold wind of the night meant little to him, his body was as warm as a fire. In the blink of an eye he was surrounded by trees and could see almost perfectly in the dark. His legs were strong, stronger than his old ones and he didn't feel tired at all. He jumped high and landed several feet away from where he had been.

"Wow, just how strong am I?" Adam asked before spotting a boulder next to him.

The boulder was the same size as his head, horns and all, yet he lifted it like it was no heavier than than his pillow back home. Adam applied some pressure to the boulder and saw cracks showing up.

"This new strength is nuts," He said as he applied some more force before the boulder was reduced to rubble. "With this kind of strength, I could work twenty orders back at my dad's forge."

As soon as those words left Adam's mouth, he realized that he could never just go back and work on the family forge. He could never go back home without having every knight and person living in Echo Creek chasing him like an animal. He could never show his face to his family and friends, ever again. He tightened his fists as his brow frowned before he punched the ground. The punch crushed the stone under Adam's feet, creating cracks as long as his arm.

"Damn it," Adam said with tears swelling up.

"You look like you could use a shoulder to cry on," A voice called to Adam.

Adam turned around and saw Jackie walking towards him. He looked back to the ground.

"I just needed some fresh air," Adam said.

"That's not it. You want to talk about it?" Jackie asked, kneeling next to him.

Adam looked down once more as he fought against his own tongue from telling Jackie what he felt.

"I... I'm angry. I tried to make up for my mistake and now everything is so much worse," Adam admitted. "Star and Mina are gone and are going to release some sort of vile creature to destroy the world. I should've gone to St. Tom Church and everything would be better."

"You can't blame yourself for what has happened. You didn't tell Star to betray us, and you didn't make the Warriors of the Sun into evil cultists," Jackie said. "You aren't the one to blame for all this. You're as much a victim of this as everyone else. But you aren't alone," She added, turning his gaze at her. "The horns kinda make you look cute."

Adam couldn't help but smile at her words. At the light of the moon, she was radiant and beautiful like someone that come out from a dream. He reached out to her and she took it. Jackie drew Adam, kissing him on the mouth.

**(Lemon)**

They melded into the kiss. Their tongues wrestled for dominance. Adam couldn't get enough of the sweet flavor of Jackie's mouth. And Jackie was loving the strong feeling of Adam on her body. They pulled their bodies closer to each other using their hands to explore all the parts of their bodies.

Adam felt a great hunger as he wrapped his arms around Jackie's body. He moved his hands around her back, pulling her closer to him. He felt every curve in her body press against him.

Jackie wrapped her hands around Adam's body, embracing the heat of his body. He was so warm and she was loving it. She didn't care about anything else other than the moment that she was living with the man she loved.

"Are you sure about this?" Adam asked, breaking the kiss. "I mean, I've got no experience and I know I'm not the best looking-"

Jackie kissed Adam once more, inserting her tongue into his mouth, cutting him off.

Adam lost his train of thought, being caught by the sweet taste of Jackie's kiss. It as if he was kissing blue berries and honey. The flavor invaded his mouth and he was at ease by it.

"You do realize that I'm a mermaid virgin, right? You are just as handsome as the first time I saw you," Jackie said, pushing Adam down.

Jackie straddled him, placing both of her legs around his hips. She reached for her back and began untying her bra.

"Get ready, because this has been a long time coming," Jackie said sultrily, freeing her Double D-cup breasts with a small bounce. "Now, let's get this party started," She said, lowering her body and kissing Adam once more.

Adam wrapped his arms around Jackie once more, feeling her breasts pressing against him. Their tongues fought for control once more, but this time Adam was ready. His tongue was able to get the upper hand causing Jackie to moan. He moved his hand to feel her breasts, causing her to moan into his mouth.

Jackie snaked one of her hands across Adam's chest and reached out to the erecting manhood that was straining against his pants. She grabbed hold of the 12 inch manhood, she felt the warmth emanating from it as she moaned.

"Wow, you're getting harder by the second," Jackie moaned as she began rubbing Adam's erection through his pants, making it grow bigger. "Let's give the big guy some air."

"But first, let me return the favor," Adam said, pushing Jackie upwards.

Adam kissed Jackie's face before trailing down kissing her neck and arriving to her breasts. He grabbed hold of them before he kissed her breasts, sucking on her nipples. The strong warm kisses that he was mapping caused Jackie to moan. She wrapped her arms behind his head, pushing him deeper into her bosom.

"Oh god, so good!" Jackie moaned, sticking out her tongue in euphoria. "Keep going," She continued, feeling her lower lips getting wetter.

Adam couldn't help but continue to go on, licking and sucking on Jackie's breasts. His hands traveled south to grope at Jackie's full rounded ass. His fingers pulled down her short shorts, revealing her nether lips.

"Oh, Adam, who would've thought you were this forward with a young lady? Should I be worried that you'll start seducing the rest of the women in our group?" Jackie teased as she helped pull off her shorts. "I'm not against it, mermaids have a male to female ratio of 1:10. Which means males have at least five lovers aside of their legal wife. But let's enjoy ourselves first," She explained, revealing her lower lips and the small patch of hair to Adam.

Adam didn't need to be told twice what to do. He pulled off his pants and pulled Jackie down to the ground next to him once more. She yelped as Adam rolled on top of her, pinning her to the ground with a kiss.

Jackie rolled on top and began licking at the erection, the salty taste reminded her of the sea and made her all the more eager to taste it more. She bobbed her head, wrapping her tongue around the head. She could feel it pulsating and growing bigger.

"Jackie, I'm about to-" Adam moaned before he fired into Jackie's mouth.

Jackie sucked all that was inside her mouth before slowly swallowing the salty and spicy liquid. Her body became as hot as an inferno as soon as she finished tasting it.

"You taste so good, Adam," Jackie moaned before she straddled his hips. "I can't wait much longer."

Adam grabbed hold of Jackie's hips and helped her down. She grabbed hold of Adam's hard manhood and aimed it towards her entrance. With their combined efforts, Adam's manhood pierced Jackie's lower lips. Jackie moaned as the manhood stretched her pussy.

"Oh god! It's so thick, I can feel every vein pumping," Jackie moaned as she felt the twelve inches reaching the deeper parts of her being.

Jackie held on to Adam as he did the same, embracing each other's warmth. They remained still, getting used to each other in this new level.

"Jackie, I want to keep going," Adam moaned. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, dude, I've wanted this for so long," Jackie moaned in ecstasy, slowly grinding her hips against his own.

Jackie spun her hips around as Adam reignited their make out. Adam bounced Jackie on his manhood, causing her breasts to bounce and her nipples to scrape against his chest.

"I love you," Adam moaned as the heat from his loins extended to the rest of his body.

"I love you so much," Jackie replied, moaning as she bounced harder against Adam.

Adam then lifted Jackie up before dropping her as he thrusted upwards. This sent waves of pleasure from the bottom of her spine to the top of her lungs. Jackie's breasts bounced wildly as Adam thrusted from where he was. They continued mating with one another, moaning each other's names and exchanging saliva.

"More, give me more!" Jackie moaned, feeling his manhood growing and expanding.

"I'm about to cum, Jackie!" Adam gasped.

"Let it all inside me!" Jackie moaned, wrapping her legs around Adam's hips.

Adam thrusted high as Jackie slammed herself against his hips. He blasted into her womb, filling her with his strong seed.

Jackie collapsed against Adam, and they both fell against the ground. They panted, exhausted from their wild lovemaking.

"You were amazing," Adam panted.

"It takes two to tango, my love," Jackie said, kissing Adam's chin.

Unbeknownst to the two lovers, their passion was not as private as they hoped.

The rest of the group had seen everything and were hiding behind the trees, with red faces.

"Wow, now I really want to jump his bones," Janna said, feeling aroused.

"Yeah, I get you," Kelly replied, rubbing her legs and whimpering like a bitch in heat.

"Sorry girls, but I called dibs on him a long time ago," Hekapoo chided in as Eclipsa bit her bottom lip.

"Oh, how I wish he would do that to us all," Eclipsa moaned.

"Too bad we have things to do," Hekapoo added sheepishly.


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning, Adam and Jackie returned to the cave, hoping to avoid getting caught by the rest of the group. The two lovers laid down where they had slept the night before noticing that the rest were sleeping. The rest of the group smiled as the two lovers pretended to sleep, knowing what the two lovers had been up to.

The sun rose, signaling that it was time to wake up. Eclipsa, Janna, Kelly and Hekapoo were the first ones to wake up. They looked at the two lovers sleeping right next to each other. Janna smiled a Cheshire cat-like grin before tip toeing towards them. She stood over them with a look of mischief on her face before drawing a magical circle in the air.

"Wakey, wakey! You two need to get up!" Janna screamed into the circle.

The circle magnified the scream into a blaring alarm, focused on the two sleeping members of the group. The sound echoed through the cave, waking Adam and Jackie.

They jumped to their feet with their hair standing up, looking at all sides of the cave for the source of the loud call. Their eyes fell on Janna smiling like a cat that had just ate the canary.

"What the heck, Janna!?" Adam snapped.

"You almost gave us a heart attack dude," Jackie added, trying to calm herself.

"You two needed to wake up, so I woke you up," Janna shrugged. "Besides, you need to figure out what we're gonna have to do next. Unless you two have something else you would rather be doing?" She said suggesting something.

Adam and Jackie blushed before looking down in slight embarrassment.

"Um, no we're open to whatever it is going on," Adam replied scratching the back of his head. "Right, Jackie?"

"Yeah, no better way to start the day," Jackie said as they went past Janna.

The young witch watched them both from behind, taking a good amount of interest in them.

_"Oh, I'm gonna have so much fun with these two," _Janna thought as the group gathered.

The group gathered around where the charred remains of last night's fire laid down. The group looked at Eclipsa who had called forth this meeting.

"I believe it is time for you to clear things out Hekapoo," Eclipsa said, pulling out the crystal that Hekapoo was trapped in.

"Yeah, not that I've got a choice in the matter," Hekapoo mumbled before looking at the rest of the group. "Hello Adam, you look great by the way."

"Thank you Hekapoo, good to see you are alright, save for being trapped part," Adam said.

"I've been in worse situations," Hekapoo replied, trying to sound tough. "Leaving that aside, we need to return to Echo Creek as fast as we can that's where Star and Mina will go to next."

"Why would they go there? That place should be filled with knights and soldiers from the other human cities," Eclipsa said.

"Eclipsa, you read all the paintings in the monastery, right?" Hekapoo asked, looking at the Queen of Darkness. "What did they say?"

Eclipsa thought for a moment, recalling the paintings that she painstakingly studied over and over again. She then remembered a painting that showed a human city with a dark vortex violently shaking it. She figured that the wall painting was a representation of a horrible future that would come from the return of Glossaryck. But it couldn't be a coincidence that the Warriors of the Sun turned out to be the Mad Monk's followers.

"It showed how a human city was being destroyed by the Darkness," Eclipsa said.

"Mina and her knights are from Echo Creek, and Star will do this to haunt me," Adam growled before looking at Hekapoo. "If I remember correctly, Hekapoo, you said that Echo Creek had a heart of darkness. What did you mean by that?"

"I wish I could tell you more, but my hands are tied," Hekapoo replied. "Literally in this case."

"Then what if we break you out? I'm sure we could crack this crystal open," Janna said.

"Sadly, the only thing Rhombulous is good at is creating these damn things. They're created in the Magic Realm, the place where he was born. That's the only place where they can be destroyed. The place where The Darkness is currently being held," Hekapoo explained. "And the only way to enter that realm is through a place that has a black heart."

"Then we need to find them before that happens," Kelly said.

"But how can we make sure that they are going towards Echo Creek?" Adam asked. "We need to be sure before going against them blind."

"I know what can give us the confirmation that we need," Eclipsa said, handing the crystal to Adam. "_I summon the All Seeing eye to tear a hole into the sky. Reveal to me that which hidden, unveil to me what is forbidden._" She chanted.

As Eclipsa chanted the spell, a ring of purple fire appeared just above the group. Inside the ring of fire an image appeared. The image showed Meteora inside an iron cage, being pulled by Rasticore.

"That's Meteora," Adam said.

"We need to help her," Jackie said, pulling out her daggers, but Eclipsa blocked her path.

"I'm afraid that my spell only shows me who and what I want, but we cannot communicate nor pass through it," Eclipsa said, tracing her left hand across the image. "No matter how much I want to."

The image zoomed out, showing Mina and her knights ridding horses with Star at the back riding on a comfy cloud with wings.

Adam growled as he placed a hand on his chest. His anger was crystal clear.

Jackie grabbed his hand, trying to calm him down, but it didn't do much.

"Where is she?" Adam asked.

"Let me help you with that," Janna responded, creating another magical circle.

The magical circle spun clock-wise in front of the all-seeing eye spell. Inside the circle, two balls of lights appeared, one pink and one red.

"This here is where we are," Janna said pointing to the red light. "And this here is where Meteora is," She added pointing to the pink ball of light.

"Well it looks like we're about three day's travel from where we are, on horseback," Kelly said. "We won't be able to catch up to them on foot."

"But where are they going?" Jackie asked looking at the makeshift map.

"It looks like they're heading south," Janna said, looking at the moving light. "Wonder what's there,"

Adam narrowed his eyes looking at the map. He thought that there had to be a reason as to why they were heading that way. The only thing that was south of their location was... his home, Echo Creek.

"I know where they are going," Adam said, putting on an old jacket and hood. "_To save those I love, I must cut out the city's heart of darkness_," He recalled.

"Then we best get going," Eclipsa said.

* * *

After gathering all their things from the cave, the group started their walk towards the city of Echo Creek. Time was of the essence, so the group followed Eclipsa to the deeper part of the forest. Who claimed to know of a way to cut down the time and get there on time.

They were walking through one of the less beaten paths surrounded by trees that curved towards each side, creating a tunnel like path. The leaves on the trees were orange like a sunset against the ocean and smelled like pumpkins. Leaves covered the path, but unlike the leaves of the trees these were of an emerald green color and didn't smell unlike the ones on top.

"What are we looking for anyway?" Janna asked. "Aren't we shouldn't be rushing or something?"

"We need to get to Echo Creek as fast as we can," Adam added.

"That's why we're here," Eclipsa said as they came across an old willow tree with white flowers. "Trees have been around for far longer than any of us. They are connected," She explained, placing her right hand on the leaves of the tree.

Eclipsa focused her magic on the tree, causing the white leaves to spiral in a circle.

Adam reached for his sword out of instinct, but he found that it was no longer there. He remembered that he lost it back at the monastery. He looked down to his fists, as they were his only weapons now.

The spiraling leaves turned into a spiraling blue portal.

"Tree portals, nice going, Eclipsa," Hekapoo cooed.

"That's amazing," Janna said.

"What is it?" Adam asked.

"This is an old trick that I learned a few years ago, the roots of Yggdrasil are spread throughout the land and as such they are great for short cuts," Eclipsa said, stepping into the portal. "Come on in it is quite nice," She said, waving her hand for the group to follow her in.

The girls looked at Adam and he returned the look. He stepped towards the portal with caution. He stretched his right hand and placed it against the portal. It was cool against his hand. He pushed against it and his hand passed through the portal, feeling the wind against his arm. Adam pulled back his arm and saw that it was in perfect conditions. He turned to the group and reassured them before going into the portal with his whole body.

* * *

Adam stepped through the portal and found himself in a realm in blue. He looked down at the ground and saw that he was standing on top of a large tree root. The root itself was standing in some form of blue void with winds blowing throughout it. He looked ahead of him and saw Eclipsa sitting on the root with her right leg crossed over her left.

"Where am I?" Adam asked, looking up to the many roots that spread and crossed paths with each other.

"This is the realm of Roots," Eclipsa replied. "Like I said, the roots of Yggdrasil reach far and wide across the world. The White Willows are doors that can grant access to this realm, for those that know what they are and how to open them," She explained as Jackie, Janna, and Kelly jumped in through the portal.

The girls crashed onto the floor and groaned in slight pain.

Adam rushed to help them up.

"Are you guys alright?" Adam asked, helping them up.

"We're good," Jackie answered.

"Yeah, but this place sure is trippy!" Janna said, looking at the strange realm they were in.

Janna looked up as she spun without a care. She approached the edge of the root without knowing. And just as she was about to step over the edge, Adam grabbed her by the shoulders. He pulled her away from the edge.

"That was too close," Adam said before looking at Janna. "We should be careful, there doesn't seem to be any bottom."

"Yes, everyone, stick to the path," Eclipsa instructed. "Magic doesn't work here. If you fall, you'll be falling for eternity until you die."

"Got it," Janna said with a thumbs up.

Janna noticed that Adam's warm hands were still on her shoulders. A devious idea popped in her head. She devilishly smiled at Adam, getting his attention.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked, raising his left eyebrow in confusion.

"Aw geez Adam, I didn't know you and I were so close that you'd keep me so close to you," Janna teased, pointing to Adam's hands on her body. "If you wanted to get some skin on skin contact with me, all you had to do was ask. I'm sure we can satisfy each other amidst the night's cold air," She whispered into his ear.

If Adam blushed, no one could tell. But he understood the message that Janna had whispered to him. He stepped back, holding up his hands. He went to Jackie and pushed her to move away.

"I think Janna knows," Adam whispered to Jackie.

"What? Are you sure?" Jackie asked before looking over her shoulder.

Jackie looked back at Janna, hoping to be proven wrong.

Janna winked at Jackie, causing her to blush.

"Yeah, she knows..." Jackie whispered to Adam.

"We all know honey," Hekapoo said, getting everyone's attention. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, young people in love will eventually get to the point of doing the ancient ritual of screwing each other's brains out. I'm honestly a little jealous that you guys got to do it while I'm stuck in this crystal."

Everyone blushed at Hekapoo's words. Adam and Jackie looked around at the other women as they tried to avoid getting their gaze. Eclipsa went as far as covering her face with her hand.

"You all knew?" Adam asked.

"How?" Jackie asked, with a blush of her own.

"We saw you doing it animal style," Janna answered, slapping Adam's ass. "You've got some good moves, Lakestone," She added before walking ahead.

"I'll never be able to look at people in the eye ever again," Adam said as he and Jackie walked to catch up with the group.

The group walked up the root, following Eclipsa to the higher parts of the root. The wind was the only noise that could be heard. The group was as silent as a grave. They were all too embarrassed to actually talk about anything.

They walked for what felt like hours, the road getting ever longer and no apparent end in sight.

Adam looked down over the edge of the root they were walking though and saw the other roots extending deeper into the void. Made him wonder how big would the tree, Yggdrasil, truly was. He also wondered what he would do when he returned to the city. He couldn't just go up to his parents and introduce them to Jackie and the rest of the girls. How could he even begin to explain what had happened to him. These questions and many more bounced in Adam's head. But first they had to return to the city.

They continued walking upwards until they came across another White Willow tree.

"This is our exit," Eclipsa said.

"Is it going to be less embarrassing than coming in?" Jackie muttered.

"We'll see," Adam sighed.

Eclipsa placed her hand on the trunk of the tree, creating another portal with the white leaves. The group passed through it and found themselves out of the strange realm that was the realm of Roots.

* * *

The group stepped out and found themselves in an open field next to a White Willow tree. The sky had darkened and the sun was setting in the horizon.

"Here we are." Eclipsa said. "We did lose some daylight though."

"Yeah, but where is here?" Jackie asked as Kelly sniffed the air.

"I smell smoke, fire, and iron," Kelly said. "There must be a human city nearby."

Adam spotted the tallest tree nearby and jumped towards it. He still couldn't believe the strength of his new body. He reached the tree and climbed up it with relative ease. His hands grabbed hold of the bark and pulled him upwards in record time. He reached the top and looked for any signs of civilization. He then saw it... A massive army camp at the gates of Echo Creek, his home.

"We're here," Adam sighed. "But what madness have I unleashed."

Hekapoo looked up at Adam with a saddened expression. She looked down.

"I'm sorry Adam, I wish I could do more," Hekapoo said, getting his attention.

"It's alright, Hekapoo, this is my mess to clean up," Adam said as he made his way back to the ground.

Adam landed in front of the group from the top of the tree.

Janna had pulled up her map and it showed the location of Star and Mina.

"Did you see something?" Kelly asked.

"A big army, right at the gates of Echo Creek," Adam explained. "We won't be able to enter with so many people in there."

"Not to mention that there is a pretty good chance that they'll attack us if they see us," Janna said.

"Yeah," Adam said. "What about Star and Mina? Where are they?"

"According to the map they could be here in two days if they pick up the pace," Kelly said, looking to the map. "And I'm guessing they are picking up the pace."

Adam looked down in frustration.

Jackie placed her hand on his shoulder, hoping to make him feel better.

"Hey, you know, it's pretty late and we could use a place to rest up. My old lake home isn't far from here," Jackie said. "We could camp out there."

"Better than being out in the open," Kelly said.

"Please lead the way, Jackie," Eclipsa said as they walked towards the lake.

* * *

The group arrived at the lake and set up a small camp near the edge of the water. The campfire was lit and Jackie snatched some fish from the lake. The lake was being illuminated with the light of the sunset and the rising moon.

"This is a pretty good," Eclipsa said.

"Yeah, pretty much a the best thing in the lake," Jackie said. "It's kinda been my only food source I've had for a long time."

As everyone ate and talked, Adam looked at the lake. There was an army at the entrance of his home, Mina and Star were on their way and a great calamity was coming soon. He felt like he needed to do something.

"Hey, Adam, your food is getting cold," Janna called.

"Oh, sorry," Adam replied before bitting into the cooked fish. "This is pretty good."

Just as Eclipsa was about to take another bite of her fish, her eyes snapped open. She dropped the fish.

"Eclipsa, is something wrong?" Jackie asked as Eclipsa jumped to her feet.

"No... Not now," Eclipsa said, looking up to the sky.

The rest of the group looked up and saw what Eclipsa was looking at.

Black clouds covered the sky, blocking out the sun. Lightning crackled and zoomed across the sky before disappearing from sight. The rumbling thunder came soon after as the wind began to pick up strength. Leaves were blown off of the tree tops and the fire was almost put out by the sheer strength of the wind.

"What's going on?" Adam asked.

"They're here," Eclipsa replied, pointing to the edge of the forest.

The group turned around and saw what had made Eclipsa so spooked.

At the edge of the forest, underneath the massive storm clouds, stood a large army of Fablefolk soldiers.

* * *

The army was vast and composed of different races, trolls, goblins, dwarfs, elves, centaurs, minotaurs, and amphibian frog-like beings, spirits of the land and wind were armed with armor and weapons. They stood together at the edge of the forest, some riding unicorns and large wolf-like creatures ready to charge. The different Fablefolk creatures growled and roared, intimidating anything that might stand in their way.

Back at the army camp outside the city, all the soldiers got on formation. Their weapons were drawn and they made their stand against the opposing army. Archers readied their bows, spearmen held their spears forward, and the knights presented their swords and shields forward to defend their fellow men. The catapults were turned towards the great army of Fablefolk before being loaded.

"Prepare to fire!" A human captain ordered before lowering his helmet.

Back with the army of Fablefolk, the creatures at the front lines stepped to the sides allowing two figures to step out from the forest. One of the figures was River The Lord of the Hunt and the other figure was Moon Butterfly Queen of the Fablefolk. They were both dressed in their battle armors. Moon rode on top of a white unicorn with a crimson horn, and River rode on top of a large drown stag. The two rulers of the Fablefolk rode towards the army camp before them.

The human commanders and captains watched with careful eyes what was about to unfold. They kept their archers ready to fire if the two Fablfolk attacked them. But instead, the two rulers stopped right in front of the army.

"We seek an audience with the ones that are in charge," Moon declared, throwing off the human soldiers.

One of the commanders stepped up.

"Captain Loveberry isn't here right now, can I take a message?" the commander asked.

"Where is she?" River asked. "What kind of leader leaves her forces behind with nothing to wipe their own asses? This is a disgrace," He said, much to Moon's annoyance.

"Very well, I shall make this message short. You have until sunset tomorrow to give me back my daughter. If you miss that deadline, we'll bring fire down upon you and all your men," Moon said, making her demands clear. "Understood?"

"Crystal clear, ma'm," the commander replied.

"Good," Moon said before she and River rode back to where their army was stationed at.

* * *

Back with the group, they were shocked by the sudden arrival.

"You can't deny that my cousin has a flare for the dramatic," Eclipsa said, trying to hide her anxiety and fear. "She was never one to do things halfway."

Eclipsa's optimism was not shared by the rest of the group.

"Well she has one heck of a timing," Janna said, bringing up the magical map. "Star will arrive soon but I doubt that she'll be interested in a family reunion."

"It'll be a blood bath," Kelly muttered. "Nothing'll be able to stop them."

"Eclipsa, couldn't you go and tell Moon to stand down?" Jackie asked.

"I'm afraid I can't, even if we're equal in power she won't listen to me. When I left court I forfeited any authority I had in it. I would need a king by my side to have a voice," Eclipsa said. "She wouldn't believe me even if she heard me out."

"Same here, my lord won't hear reason," Kelly sighed. "Once he's got his sights set he won't rest until he get's it done."

Adam growled. He couldn't destroy the book when he had the chance. He couldn't prevent the war to come to his door step. He hated not being able to do anything. He wanted to grab his sword and storm through the gates and stop all this madness.

Adam's eyes widen. That's what he needed. A sword.

Adam turned to the lake. He knew that there was only one sword that could give them a fighting chance.

Hekapoo figured out what Adam was thinking.

"I think it's been in the water for far too long," Hekapoo said. "Better pull it out, if you can."

Adam ran towards the lake, taking the group by surprise.

"Adam, what are you doing?!" Janna called.

"This isn't time for a late night swim!" Eclipsa added.

Adam didn't listen to their calls. He plunged into the lake at top speed.

Jackie then remembered what was on the bottom of the lake.

"What is he doing?" Kelly asked.

"He's getting a new sword," Jackie replied. "I just hope that he can get it out."

* * *

Adam swam deeper into the water, holding his breath as he searched for the old weapon that he needed. He swam past the fishes and spotted a glint not far from where he was. He closed in on it until he could see it.

Caliburn.

Adam narrowed his eyes as he swam towards it. He planted his feet on the bottom of the lake before reaching for the sword's handle.

_"Are you sure about that?"_

Adam spun back, looking for the origin of the voice. But he was alone. He turned back to the sword and reached for the handle once more.

_"Why are you so set in changing things? A crazy world is exactly what people are asking for," _

Adam turned once more and saw the origin of the voice.

The fish from the lake schooled together forming the face of Glossaryck. The face looked at Adam with a smile that reached from ear to ear.

Adam narrowed his eyes at the Mad Monk. He punched at the school of fish, only to scatter and reform once more.

_"Don't waste your time boy. You're like a little frog swimming against the current," _Glossaryck mocked. _"This has been a long time coming, you think that Oberon's old sword would be enough to stop the bringing of my greatness? Or are you just after it for the honor that it could bring you?"_

"Adam, don't listen to him! He's messing with your head," Hekapoo said from her prison.

_"Aw, if it isn't my darling little girl. Come to see your old man?" _Glossaryck taunted.

Adam's eyes grew wide once more before looking at Hekapoo.

Glossaryck smiled at this.

_"Oh, she didn't tell you did she?" _Glossaryck asked. _"She was quite the spitfire she-demon until she met that dumb human and went through her rebellious phase. Why don't you tell your little friend how you backstabbed me and your family?" _He suggested, hoping to poke at the young man's will.

"Yeah, to see you locked away like you deserve," Hekapoo replied, glaring at the vision of Glossaryck. "I did what I did to save this world. If you had your way there wouldn't be anything left."

_"Details, details," _Glossaryck said before going back to Adam. _"So kid, how about you take that sword and embrace the crazy? Think of all the countless adventures that you'll have. You are worthy of the sword, obviously. You can finally let go of your boring life and go on those adventures you were starving for," _He tempted, creating an illusion of Adam back in his normal body going on an adventure.

Adam looked at the image before him. He reached for it, it was all that he wanted. But then he saw that he was alone. Adam narrowed his eyes and reached for Caliburn. He grabbed hold of the sword's hilt.

_"I knew you'd make the right choice ki-," _Glossaryck began.

"Shut the hell up!" Adam replied, gripping the sword with both hands. "I'm not here for my own glory or because I think I'm worthy, I'm here because I've got no other choice. To save my family and the people that I love!"

Adam drew out the sword from where it was. He swung Caliburn, splitting the face of Glossaryck in half.

"And no one is going to get in my way," Adam said holding the sword as it glowed with a light red aura around it.

Hekapoo was awestruck, Adam had actually pulled it off. He resisted the temptation, and had grown into the great man she'd hoped he'd be.

But something just popped into her mind.

"Um, Adam, not to ruin your awesome moment of sticking it to my old man but... aren't you running out of air?" Hekapoo asked.

Adam's cheeks popped before he swam upwards to the surface.

* * *

"Adam's been down there for a lot of time," Kelly said.

"Shouldn't we go in and see if he's alright?" Eclipsa asked.

Just then Adam broke through the surface of the lake, holding up Caliburn in his right hand. He took in a deep breath as he held it up.

"I think he's alright," Jackie said as Adam swam to shore.

Jackie, Janna, Kelly and Eclipsa gathered around Adam as he finally got out of the lake.

"Are you ok?" Jackie asked.

"I am," Adam replied. "I just had to pick something up."

Janna, Kelly, and Eclipsa then got a good look at the sword.

"Adam, is that?" Eclipsa asked, pointing at Caliburn.

"Now, we have a fighting chance," Adam said, holding up Caliburn.


	17. Chapter 17

Star and Mina flew through the air, pulling Meteora's cage along with them. She had felt that pulling and walking back were beneath her now and decided to give the horses wings. She felt pretty confident about her position. She was at the top of the world, where she knew she belonged. The dark stormy clouds were circling around Star and her new entourage as they made their way towards the city. They came across a clearing and looked down to see the two opposing armies standing before the city of Echo Creek.

"So, my mom finally got off her ass and decided to do what I've been suggesting all this time? Good to know she listens," Star said.

"Your highness, if your mommy finds out what we're up to, she'll try to stop us," Mina snarled. "We should let them go at each other before they realize what is to come."

"Star, that's your mother and father down there!" Meteora cried out from her cage. "Are you really going to let our family fight to the death?! That's insane!"

"Oh, cousin, you are so simple minded. The humans were going to attack us eventually, this is just the preemptive strike that our race needs to remind them who's in charger here," Star explained. "With Glossaryck's blessing I shall be the one to lead our people to the top where we belong."

"But there won't be anyone left!" Meteora snapped back.

"Quiet gate! We're almost into the city!" Mina said as they flew over the armies. "The party is about to begin!" She chuckled with a mad smile.

* * *

In the war camp of Moon Butterfly, she stood with River and the rest of her war council. They stood over a table where a map laid on it. They were planning their next move after their scouts did a complete assessment of the field and the city of Echo Creek.

"We've spotted three entry points into the city, my queen. One on the front, one on the back and a third one by the river," A minotaur pointed out on the map. "However, the back entrance is fortified from the inside and the entrance by the river is too narrow for most of our forces to enter." He explained.

"Where are the majority of the enemy forces located, commander?" Moon asked, looking over the map.

"At the front gates, my queen. That's the only place where our forces could go through," The Minotaur explained.

"But there's still the big problem of the army in front of us," Moon added. "Has there been any movement from them?"

"None at all. They seem to be reading for battle but we aren't sure," He answered.

"Keep an eye on them, and keep us posted," Moon said.

"I say we fight our way through them and get our daughter back," River said, slamming his fist on the table.

"I gave them until nightfall, River. I shall hold up my end of the arrangement, even if they don't," Moon said as she walked towards her chair. "If there must be a war, I will not have the blood of humans on my hands," She added before sitting on her chair.

River let out a sigh, looking at his feet before approaching his wife.

"You're right my love, but it is so frustrating that I cannot do anything," River said, holding his wife's hand. "I just wish that I could charge against the enemy and make everything right for us and our daughter."

Moon held River's hand, trying to reassure that he was doing the right thing. They looked at each other before kissing.

"Everything will be alright, River," Moon said. "Go make sure the troops don't get too drunk to fight tomorrow, I'll be alright."

"I'll get right on that, Moonpie! None shall drink without a secure victory on the horizon," River said, storming out of the tent.

As soon as River was out of the tent, Moon's strong facade fell. She looked sadly at the ground before reaching into her armor. She pulled out her locket and opened it. She looked at the picture of her family and the big crack splitting her daughter's picture in two.

"I wish I could share in your enthusiasm, River. But I can't help but feel like something's amiss," Moon admitted, holding on to her locket as if doing so would fix what was broken.

* * *

Adam and the rest of his group were walking towards the city using an invisibility spell that Janna and Eclipsa casted together. They were walking behind the army camp at the front of the city as quietly as possible. The army scurried around them, preparing themselves for the battle that was going to happen, taking swords, arrows and spears to those that needed them.

"Looks like everyone is making damn sure that they're prepared," Janna said.

"Quiet," Jackie shushed. "We need to be silent, remember?" She whispered.

"Just a little bit further," Adam whispered, pointing to the entrance.

The group entered the city after passing through the entrance just as a soldier stepped out.

Once inside the city, Adam could see how much things had changed in his absence. The streets were mostly empty, and some of the windows of the buildings were boarded up from the outside. The marketplace was almost empty and the few people that were there were rushing to get what they needed before going back to their homes.

"So this is where you grew up, huh?" Janna asked. "You turned out great."

"Thanks, Janna," Adam replied, grabbing a cloak and hood.

Adam pulled the hood over his head and hid Caliburn under the cloak.

"What do we do now?" Jackie asked. "We can't just stand here on the street."

"First, I need to check on my family to see if they are ok. They are staying with a friend of mine," Adam said, as they began to walk away. "He should be able to tell us the whereabouts of Mina and her crazy knights."

"Are you sure he'll help us?" Eclipsa asked.

Adam stopped for a second. He didn't say anything. He kept quiet for a whole minute before replying.

"He has to," Adam replied before walking on with the rest of the group following behind him. "Marco has been my friend for a long time and he has his own issues with the Warriors of the Sun."

* * *

Star and Mina walked through the dark sewers underneath the city with her knights pulling Meteora from behind. The deeper chambers under the city were old and had carvings of reptilian creatures and ancient monstrosities. A river of green colored water illuminated the path that the traitorous princess and her mad entourage followed.

"We are almost there, Princess," Mina said.

"Good, I don't want to miss the war upstairs," Star said. "This place could use some lit torches to liven things up."

"Yeah, I'd hate to rip out your heart in the dark," Meteora said, struggling against the knights holding onto her and the iron bracelets that suppressed her magic.

"Can't we gag her or something? It's getting annoying to hear her all this time," Star said.

"Sure thing," Mina replied before stuffing Meteora's mouth with an old sock. "Put a sock on it you monster trash."

Meteora struggled and growled through her gag. She narrowed her eyes at her captors, wanting nothing more than to rip off her bindings and beat them all within an inch of their lives.

Just as the group was walking deeper into the bowls of the earth, a crow glided down to Mina's shoulder.

"Sebastian! How's it going my feathery companion in arms?" Mina asked the crow. "Got any news for me?"

The crow cawed a couple of times, making Mina's brow to frown.

"I see," Mina said coldly. "Take care of him, Sebastian. Use any force necessary."

Sebastian cawed loudly before flying away from her shoulder. Mina followed her feathery companion going off to do her bidding with a toothy smile on her face.

"What was all that about?" Star asked.

"A crazy lady talking to a bird, Star," Meteora growled. "What? Cats too sane for ya?"

"Nah, too hard to control. Sebastian on the other hand..." Mina said. "He's a killer through and through! He'll take care of our loose end before he does something stupid. Now let's get going. Rasticore, if anyone comes this way that's not any of us... kill them and eat their bones," She ordered the reptilian creature.

Rasticore hissed before crawling up the carved walls, vanishing into the darkness above the group.

* * *

In the Diaz residence, Mariposa was playing a game with Duncan. Mariposa was counting while she laid her head against the door of her room.

"10... 9... 8..." Mariposa counted down.

"Do we have to play hide and seek? We're a little old for this don't you think?" Duncan asked.

"Hey, you lost the bet, so you get to play whatever game I want," Mariposa said, turning her head to face Duncan. "It's either this or playing house. Your choice," She added with a flirty grin on her face.

Duncan turned red before sprinting out of the room. He liked the girl but not that much that quickly.

"7... 6... 5..." Mariposa continued counting as Duncan ran through the halls of the residence.

Duncan ran through the corridor past the different portraits of the Diaz family line. He ran past several closed rooms, statues and knight armors that stood decorating the hallway. He then spotted an open room door at the edge of the corridor. Duncan had never been in this part of the household, and wasn't sure about what was in this room. He wasn't sure if he was permitted to be in there.

"4... 3... 2... 1!" Mariposa finished, getting Duncan's attention. "Ready or not, here I come! And when I find you, I'll make you wear one of my dresses!"

Duncan paled at the thought. He slowly walked into the room before closing the door behind him. He would hide in here until Mariposa passed looking for him. Duncan then used this chance to look at the room that he found himself in.

The room was dark, there were no lights or windows that he could see. There were boxes, reading chairs, sofas and old pieces covered with long sheets. Some spider webs hung on the ceiling and others connected the dusty sheets to the floor.

Duncan surmised that this was the room where the Diaz used to put some of their older pieces. But as he walked deeper into the room, he noticed that there was something else to this room. He noticed a beaten up punching bag hanging from the ceiling, a bullseye on the wall with arrows sticking out from it, and prayer-like mumble echoing lightly in the room.

Duncan walked towards the source of the prayers. As he got closer, he was able to hear the prayers more clearly. He turned the corner of one of the covered boxes and saw who was praying.

It was Marco, Mariposa's brother.

Marco was kneeling down in front of a large painting of a man with a skylight bringing light from above. The man in the painting was dressed in a purple robe while being crucified on a wooden cross. Arrows stuck out of the painted man from which blood dripped down from.

Marco wore his suit of armor with chainmail covering his arms and legs, iron bracelets covered his arms and the back of his hands as iron shin grads protected his legs. He had a crusader helmet on his head and a red shirt with a white cross on his chest. He held his hands together in front of his chest and his eyes were closed. Between Marco and the painting were a bow and three arrows laying on the floor.

"Oh great gods of man, I ask you to bless me once more in this hour of darkness. Let me be your holy warrior and defeat any and all who oppose you and threaten my people," Marco prayed. "Grant me strength to face the madness that has plagued my city from its inception. Help me see this through, amen."

Duncan hid behind one of the crates. He watched and heard what Marco was praying. He was so focused on the actions of Marco that he didn't hear the light steps that were coming towards him. A hand snuck up Duncan causing him to jump.

"Found you, Duncan!" Mariposa said, scaring Duncan.

"Mariposa! Don't sneak up on people like that!" Duncan snapped, revealing their presence to Marco.

Marco turned around, shocked at the appearance of both his sister and of Duncan. He stood up and looked at the two youngsters.

"Mariposa, I told you not to come in here!" Marco said.

"I'm sorry, Marco. Duncan and I were just playing and he came in here," Mariposa apologized. "Sorry if we interrupted you."

Marco's face softened.

"It's alright, Mariposa. I just need to prepare today," Marco said, picking up the bow and the arrows. "I fear that today might bring something disastrous."

Duncan narrowed his eyes at Marco's words.

"Who's the pincushion on the painting?" Duncan asked, turning to the painting.

"You should be more polite to the saints of the world," Marco replied before turning to the painting. "This is Saint Tom Lucitor. The Saint of Redemption and Lost Causes. He was the saint that purged the Green Plague of Norsevilla. He was then put to death for speaking against the king of the city. He was shot with arrows. And I've managed to recover three of those bloodstained arrow tips," He explained as he pulled out a small wooden box containing said arrowheads.

"Why do you have arrows with that guy's blood?" Duncan asked.

"They are sanctified. They are my chosen weapon in the battle that is to come," Marco said, as he placed the arrowheads into his arrows. "Not the one at our door, but the one within our city walls."

Duncan and Mariposa looked at each other, unsure as to what Marco was talking about.

"Marco, what are you talking about?" Mariposa asked.

"I saw it, Mariposa, in a vision. This is my duty, my debt to pay," Marco said. "A debt passed down from the city's very beginnings."

Before Marco could continue his explanation the sound of flapping of wings caught his attention. He looked up to the skylight just in time to see the silhouette of a massive bird.

A large crow broke through the skylight before revealing its grotesque appearance. Sebastian was now five times its own side. Its wings were now turned into clawed appendages and its beak had grown large and filled with sharp teeth like a shark. It landed on the floor with a loud bang. Sebastian roared at the inhabitants of the room before its dark eyes set on Marco.

"Mariposa, Duncan, get out of here! So, you come for me at last beast!" Marco said, reaching for one of his arrows. "You will find me ready to meet you in combat! Your mistress will not have her way!"

Sebastian glared at Marco before charging at him with savage speed. Marco was tackled against the floor, causing the bow and arrows to be sent out of his reach. Sebastian pinned Marco to the wall using its feathers like claws, digging them into his arms. Marco grunted as the bird showed off its teeth.

Marco struggled against the large bird's hold, but to no avail.

"I hope you choke on my bones, beast," Marco groaned as Sebastian the crow bit into him.

Marco screamed in pain.

"Hey you feather duster, get away from him!" Duncan said, grabbing a sword from a rack and charging at the bird.

Sebastian swatted Duncan back with its left wing.

Mariposa ran to Duncan's side, and tried to pull him up.

Sebastian slowly crawled towards them, grunting like a savage beast.

"Get away from them you damn bird!"

Duncan recognized the voice, but he couldn't believe it. They turned to the origin of the voice and saw a hooded figure with a large sword in his hand. Standing around him there were a mermaid, a witch, a green furred werewolf, and a woman with spade marks on her cheeks. But Duncan wasn't focused on the companions of the cloaked figure, he was focused on the one with the sword.

Sebastian was also interested in the new arrivals.

"So much for a discreet entrance," Janna said as they got ready to fight.

"Why don't you pick a fight with someone with more flesh in his bones?" Adam asked holding Caliburn in both hands.

Sebastian growled in response.

"Get Duncan to safety, this one is mine," Adam said.

"Be careful, Adam," Jackie said, catching Duncan's attention.

Sebastian charged at Adam. Adam charged at the monstrous bird with his sword ready to strike. Sebastian jumped high with its fang filled beak open. Adam cut down the distance between them with ease. He then spun underneath the bird and slashed its wing. The monstrous bird fell to the ground with the cut wing. It struggled to get back up as it growled at Adam.

Adam growled back before charging back at Sebastian. The bird monster jumped at Adam, in an attempt to bite off his head. Adam thrusted Caliburn through Sebastian's chest, killing it. Blue fire enveloped the body of Sebastian as it died. Adam pulled out his sword as the power that turned the crow into a monstrous bird left it. The body of the monster turned to ash falling to the ground.

"At least we know we can kill Mina and her knights with Caliburn," Adam said before putting Caliburn on his back.

"That's a bit of relief," Kelly said, turning back to her normal form.

"Adam, is that you?" Duncan called, getting his brother's attention. "What happened to you? We thought you were dead. Who are these women that are with you?"

Adam wasn't sure of what to say. He pulled his hood to cover his face.

"A lot has happened, Duncan. A lot," Adam replied before Jackie stepped towards Duncan.

"Hi, my name is Jackie, I'm friends with your brother," Jackie said, holding out her hand. "Don't worry, we're friendly," She added with a smile.

"Um... Nice to meet you," Duncan said, hesitantly shaking her hand. "Could you tell me what happened to Adam?"

"Um, well... you see," Jackie started, thinking of how to explain things to him.

"Marco!" Mariposa called getting their attention.

Mariposa held Marco's head as blood flowed from his body.

Adam and the rest of the group rushed to his side. Eclipsa and Janna quickly casted a spell to heal Marco, managing to stop the bleeding.

"Marco, come on stay awake," Adam said, causing Marco to look at him.

"Adam... It seems I wasn't the one meant to pay the price," Marco moaned. "And it seems, you've paid dearly. Take the arrows, and this... it'll show you the way. Stop the madness. It's all in the scroll," He said, handing Adam a scroll before his hand went limp.

"Marco!" called Mariposa as Janna looked for a pulse.

"Don't worry, he just passed out for the blood loss," Janna said. "We should get him out of here."

"Janna, can you and Kelly get Duncan, Marco, and as many people as you can out of the city and to safety?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, we can get a few people out," Kelly replied.

"Do it, I'll go after Star and Mina," Adam said, looking at the scroll before looking at Duncan. "A lot has happened, Duncan. I've almost died many times over, but now I'm here to fix things. I promise to see you, mom and dad soon."

"But," Duncan began.

"No buts, I got to do this," Adam said, kneeling down to his brother's level.

"I'm going with you," Jackie said.

"As am I, if Star has Meteora then I'm going too," Eclipsa said.

"Then let's go to the depths of hell," Adam said, wrapping the bow and the arrows in a piece of cloth.

* * *

As Adam, Jackie and Eclipsa made their way to the headquarters of the Warriors of the Sun, Adam opened the scroll that Marco had given him.

_"This is the final words of Santiago Diaz, knight of the Warriors of the Sun. It was forty years ago that Echo Creek was nothing more than an old town that had only a hundred __inhabitants. We were meant to be the jewel of the new human cities. Me and my colleagues sought for a way to help make the town thrive and become quite wealthy along the way."_

Adam, Jackie and Eclipsa walked through the back alleys avoiding any populated areas. He could feel something drawing him nearer to the headquarters of the Warriors. He continued reading as a light quake shook the ground.

_"Our prayers were answered, although not by any benevolent deity but by a short man named Ludo Avarius. He led us to an area where no plants grew and animals stayed away from. There was a large rock with strange markings on it. He pressed one of the symbols and a passage opened up for us. Only one amongst us spoke of how perilous our endeavor would be. I wished I listened to him, but instead we left our souls behind and followed the little devil to the bowls of the earth."_

Adam and his allies spotted two knights that were keeping guard at the entrance of the Warriors of the Sun headquarters. Adam was about to pull out Caliburn but was stopped by Jackie.

"Can't let you do all the work," Jackie said as she nodded to Eclipsa.

Eclipsa channelled magic into her hands before a black mist came out from her palms. The dark mists wrapped around the knights' heads, blinding them. The knights pulled at the black mists but they weren't able to get it off of them. Jackie used this chance to sneak up behind them. She drew out her daggers and struck them with the butts of the daggers. The two knights fell unconscious to the ground.

"I love it when you girls work together," Adam said, as he and Eclipsa joined Jackie by the entrance.

"Hey, just you wait until I get out. Then you'll see what I can really do," Hekapoo called from her crystal prison.

The group entered the building and made their way to the basement as the rest of the scroll was being read.

_"We found ourselves in a city of the dead. The walls were carved to show depictions of monstrous creatures. Ludo led us to the deepest part of the catacomb where he presented a large fountain that spewed a green glowing river of water. He made preparations of the __profane ritual. He promised us that our home would flourish and that our bloodlines would be assure a place in history. All we had left to do was drink from the green river fountain. But we got greedy. We beat Ludo to a pulp before sprinting out of the buried tomb. We closed the passage, and we hoped that our weakness would die with the small man. But whatever dark magic he put to work fulfilled its purpose. The town flourished and we were able to become a great city. We were rich beyond our wildest dreams, but by night the nightmares began. Whispers of doom and images of Ludo drinking from the fountain before turning into a reptilian creature and of other monstrosities. Now I know that we've sold our souls and we've set in motion a series of events that will doom our home and the people that we love. Lakestone was the only one that knew that this was wrong. We should've listened to him. We built our new headquarters on top of the damned spot, as a way to cover our sins. I pray that this helps my descendants to right my wrongs. May the gods have mercy on our souls..."_

Adam finished reading the scroll before putting it away. He paid no mind to his last name being mentioned. They had a mission and they needed to fulfill.

Eclipsa casted a spell on the ground and the hidden passage was blown open by her sheer power.

"They'll be waiting for us," Adam said. "Let's not disappoint them."


	18. Chapter 18

Adam, Jackie and Eclipsa walked down through the entrance into the catacombs where Mina and Star where. The steps were old and in almost mint condition from lack of use. They were covered in dust and spiderwebs which showed that more than a couple of beings had walked down the steps not that long ago.

The group walked down the stairs until they found themselves inside the underground catacombs. They walked past carvings of ancient beings and forgotten histories that decorated the walls. Some stone carvings showed cloaked man playing a golden trumpet as bony hands reached out for him, a woman covered in bandages holding a golden sword on her left hand and a scale on the right one. And then there were carvings of lizard-like people like in the Evil Eye Monastery. Adam narrowed his eyes as the memories came back to him. A faint green glow caught their attention, they were on the right path. Just then the ground shook with them in the underground catacombs.

"We need to keep going," Jackie said, stepping down the pathway.

"This has got to be something that Mina and Star are doing," Eclipsa added before they ran deeper into the catacombs.

The group ran faster down the path until the faint glowing green light became brighter. The air grew colder and damper the deeper they went down. There was also a nasty smell that spread through the catacombs. They came across the path that led to a deeper part of the catacombs. It was dead quiet and all that echoed was their steps.

"I'm pretty sure that's what turned Mina and her knights into monsters," Jackie said, looking at the green goo that flowed on the ground.

"And what turned Ludo into-" Adam began when a couple of pebbles fell down from the wall.

The group stopped on their tracks. They heard something slithering above them.

Adam narrowed his eyes before he reached for his sword. Just as he grabbed hold of Caliburn, Rasticore dropped down from above. Adam jumped out of the way of its claws, forcing him to throw the veiled cloth to Eclipsa.

Jackie pulled out her daggers and ran after Rasticore just as Adam drew out Caliburn.

Rasticore jumped at them with his claws drawn for the kill.

Adam snarled before he and Jackie charged at the reptilian monster. Jackie slashed at its right eye, blinding it while Adam cut off the creature's left arm. Rasticore landed with a thud before letting out a savage roar at the group. Adam rushed in and slashed at the lizard creature's chest pushing it backwards. Rasticore roared as the green blood came out of his wounds. Adam stood ready with his sword, expecting a counter attack from the lizard monster.

"You helped start all this, Ludo. All the people that have died from this madness demand justice," Adam said, pointing Caliburn at Rasticore.

Rasticore growled at Adam once more. It seemed that whatever was left of that twisted mind was reacting to the words. But the creature reacted with the only emotion it still recognized, rage.

"I think it's about time you finally get put out of your misery," Adam added, as Rasticore charged at the trio with murder in his remaining eye.

Before Adam or Jackie could strike down the reptilian monster, a blast of purple energy with purple butterflies struck Rasticore. The attack sent the monster backwards into one of the catacomb walls, causing large rocks to fall from the ceiling and crush him under their weight.

Adam and Jackie turned around and saw Eclipsa holding out her right hand as it was coated in purple energy. She lowered her hand before looking at the two youngsters with a confused look.

"What? I may have been a former queen but I don't like to be left to the side," Eclipsa said, as she walked towards them. "I'm not just some pretty face, you know?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Adam said, putting Caliburn away.

"We completely forgot about that," Jackie added, blushing while putting her daggers behind her back.

"You two'll make it up to me later," Eclipsa winked as she gave the wrapped cloth to Adam.

Eclipsa took the lead, leaving the two young adults slightly behind.

"She scares me," Jackie whispered to Adam.

"I think she was flirting with us," Adam whispered back.

"Come along you two, we're on a tight schedule aren't we?" Eclipsa called out.

Adam and Jackie picked up the pace and caught up to Eclipsa before finding themselves in front of a large entrance. The entrance looked like the mouth of a monster. Two pairs of fangs stood out from the four corners of the entrance and in the upper part there was a pair of eyes with with slit irises and a grotesque nose in between them. The trio stepped into the mouth of the wolf and found themselves in another dark corridor. At the end of the corridor there was a strange glowing yellow light which made the group rush towards it.

Adam grabbed hold of Caliburn once more and drew it out to be ready for whatever may be in front of them.

But what appeared before the trio was something that none of them was expecting to come across.

Meteora was held against the wall with iron nails on her hands, pinning her in place. Her eyes were white and unfocused. Purple lines with yellow accents flowed from her body up to a large spiraling yellow portal.

The gate had been opened by Star and Mina.

"Meteora!" Eclipsa cried out, rushing to her daughter along with Adam and Jackie.

Eclipsa reached her daughter and picked her face with her hands.

"Meteora, please honey, I'm here," Eclipsa said on the verge of tears.

Jackie tried to grab hold of one of nails holding Meteora, but she felt the burn of the iron.

Adam grabbed hold of the other nail and pulled it off of her. He grabbed hold of the other nail and pulled it off, freeing Meteora into the arms of her mother.

Eclipsa held her daughter near her chest hoping to comfort her as her eyes closed. Meteora blinked herself awake before seeing her mother.

"Mom, where? What happened?" Meteora asked.

"Meteora, I'm so glad you're safe," Eclipsa cried of happiness, hugging her daughter. "Tell me, are you alright?"

Meteora screamed in pain as the two holes in her hands finally registered.

"Damn it, Star! I swear I'll get even with you for this," Meteora growled.

"Where did they go?" Adam asked, causing Meteora to finally look at him.

Meteora's face lit up at the sight of Adam's new self.

"Hello there, handsome. I don't believe we've met," Meteora flirted.

Eclipsa giggled as Adam blushed from the cat call.

"Actually, I'm Adam, the human from the monastery," Adam introduced himself.

Meteora blinked a couple times unsure of what she heard. She narrowed her eyes at him before she finally recognized him.

"Whoa, you look good in red," Meteora mumbled as Jackie wrapped some bandages on her arms.

"Meteora, where did Star and Mina went?" Jackie asked, causing her to snap out of her stupor.

"After nailing me to the damn wall, they entered that portal," Meteora pointed to the strange portal. "They said something about waking The Darkness."

"Then that's where I'll go," Adam said walking towards the portal.

Adam glared at the portal, feeling the power that came from the swirling mass of energy. He gripped Caliburn tightly, knowing that something would come out from that place. He looked down at Hekapoo's crystal prison.

"Is that where The Darkness is?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, good thing you got Caliburn and your arrows," Hekapoo said.

"You know that's going to be a trap, right?" Jackie said, joining the conversation.

"If that's the case, I'm going too," Meteora said, trying to get up. "I owe Star being turned into a pin cushion," She winced, being caught by her mom.

Eclipsa's eyes turned purple using a spell to see the state of her daughter's health.

"She's weak. Making that damn portal has drained a lot of her energy," Eclipsa said. "She needs some rest. Don't you sweetie?"

"Mom," Meteora hissed, blushing in embarrassment.

"It's alright, I'll go in and stop them," Adam said.

"You can't go alone in there," Jackie replied. "We've come all this way, I'm not going to leave you now."

Adam smiled. He turned to Jackie and kissed her on the lips. They melt into the kiss a a minute before they broke it.

Meteora's eyes widened in surprise. She then understood their relationship was a lot deeper than she had believed at first.

"I need you two here to close the portal if Star or anyone else tries to get out," Adam explained.

"I understand, just be careful," Jackie begging him to stay with them instead of going to wherever the portal took them.

Jackie nodded as Adam turned to the portal. He took in a deep breath before he stepped through the portal.

* * *

Adam stepped into the other side of the portal. The ground under his feet was wet. He looked down and saw that his feet were covered with a golden liquid. He saw that the sky was pitch black and there were no creatures nearby. He spotted purple crystals around him and a path of purple crystal steps appeared before him and far at the end of the path laid a great blue fire. He could hear a chant coming from the fire was, not far from where he stood. Adam unveiled the cloth that he was carrying before he pulled out the bow and the three arrows.

"Marco, I'll be sure to use these arrows right," Adam said, preparing an arrow on the bow.

Adam walked up the path. He felt the wind strike his body but it wasn't like the winds that he'd felt before.

This wind was foul, it carried a stench that he could only describe as a rancid meat stew being boiled inside a smelly boot over a fire that was lit using garbage. Every breath he took, the more he wanted to vomit his lunch.

But as the stench grew worse in smell, Adam noticed that the chanting grew louder. He growled as he recognized the voices that were making those chants.

_"Oooma Chota, Rien Dark! Awaken Darkness for your time is nigh!"_

_"Bring on your master, Glossaryck! The bringer of chaos and madness! Na-Mung Garroth Amma-Ra!"_

Adam walked on and on until he finally got to the end of the path. A small tower stood before him and at the very top there was a blue fire burning bright. He spotted both Star and Mina chanting right in front of the flame.

_"Oooma Chota, Rien Dark! Awaken Darkness for your time is nigh!"_

_"Bring on your master, Glossaryck! The bringer of chaos and madness! __Na-Mung Garroth Amma-Ra!__"_

_"I Star Butterfly call you! Your way is ready!"_

Adam narrowed his eyes at the sight of the two women. He could tell that Star was holding up the Gospel of Glossaryck while Mina danced like a madwoman. A growled pulled his sight to the two monstrous knights standing guard.

"Looks like we've got some company," Hekapoo said.

"Good thing I've got more than one arrow," Adam replied, climbing up the stairs. "So, you two want to go first? Come and get me."

The two monstrous knights growled and charged at Adam.

Adam aimed the first arrow at the knight at the left. He took in a deep breath before firing the first arrow. The arrow through the air flew from Adam's bow and struck the first knight on the right pectoral.

The knight stopped on his tracks as a crimson flare erupted from the arrow and spread through its body. The dark magic inside the knight was used as fuel for the arrow to purge. The flesh and blood of the knight was burnt off, leaving by a pile of charred bones where the soldier once stood.

"I may have pretty bad aim but I only need to hit you once to destroy you," Adam said, firing the second arrow at the remaining knight.

The second arrow struck the second knight in the lower abdomen, turning him into another pile of scorched bones.

The roar of pain of the fallen knights caught the attention of both Star and Mina. They turned around and got a clear view of Adam as he walked past the scorched bones.

"Well, what do we have here? A Fablefolk looking to see the rise of the new queen?" Star asked.

"Maybe he wants to bow down to us first and get special favors," Mina suggested.

"Ooh, that is a good thing," Star said before turning to Adam. "Well, go ahead, start groveling for your new queen."

Adam narrowed his eyes at Star.

"You don't recognize me, do you?" Adam asked.

"Not really," Mina replied before looking at Star. "Should we, though? His voice does sound a little familiar."

"I really don't think he's that important, so no," Star added, shrugging him off.

Adam narrowed his eyes at Star and gritted his teeth. He gripped the bow and the last arrow so tight that he could feel the wood slightly crumble by the force.

"You mean to tell me that you don't recognize the person that you stabbed in the back?!" Adam asked, aiming the final arrow with a snarl. "My name is Adam Lakestone, and I'm here to stop you both. I've got one final arrow, and it has your name, Star!"

Star's eyes widen in surprise.

"You?! You're the human?!" Star asked, pointing to Adam. "You should be dead!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha! It doesn't matter, princess," Mina laughed, pointing to Adam with a mocking finger. "You're too late, boy! This is beyond your potty brain's understanding! Look down and behold..." She said, pointing to the ground below them.

Adam looked down by the corner of his eye and saw that the golden liquid was turning pitch black. Deep below the surface of the dark liquid a monstrous green silhouette moved towards them. It resembled a dragon with large bat-like wings where its arms should be, a long neck, a fierce reptilian face with a pair of green glowing eyes, but it had tentacles on its lower body. The tentacles reached out, coiling around the crystals that stretched below the surface. Each tentacle had green eyes with diamond shaped irises. They moved around, taking in the world around them.

"Take a good look at The Darkness!" Mina cried out. "Take it all in and lose your marbles!"

Adam gazed upon the monster that was down in the depths of the liquid. He felt his body become stiff. His grip loosened as his eyes lost focus.

"Adam!" Hekapoo called out, hoping to get his attention.

"You waste your breath, flame whore," Mina said. "He's down for the count."

"Yeah, what else could you expect from a pathetic human," Star added, hoping that it would rub salt on Adam's pride.

Adam's vision began to fade, but he then remembered that he had to do this. He remembered that the people that he loved were waiting for him, and that he needed to remain strong.

"I'm no longer human," Adam growled, steeling himself back. "And your madness doesn't hold any power over me!" He said as he aimed the final arrow at Star.

Star's face turned pale as she gazed into Adam's burning orange eyes. How could this being fight against the will of something bigger than himself. She was doing what was right, and yet this human was standing there trying to stop her.

A thip snapped Star out of her thoughts. She saw the arrow fly directly towards her.

"Princess!" Mina called out, snapping Star's instincts.

Star placed the only thing that she had on hand to protect herself, the Gospel of Glossaryck. The arrow pierced through the cursed book like a heavy rock would go through the surface of the water.

The book was engulfed in red flames, burning Star's hands.

Star screamed in rage as her hands became bloody by the burns before glaring at Adam. If looks could kill, her eyes would be a death sentence.

"You will pay for that, freak!" Star said. "Rainbow Death Flame!" She screamed as she fired rainbow-colored flames from her hands.

The flames struck Adam. He held up his right arm to block as much of the fire as possible, but the rainbow colored flames burnt away the bow and the cloak that Adam had been wearing.

"Die! Die! Die!" Star cried out. "You and every human in this damn place will be used as foundations for my new kingdom!"

Adam struggled against the flames. He stepped forward, feeling the blazing heat against his body. It was powerful, but it wasn't hurting him as badly as he'd thought. He grabbed hold of Caliburn. He drew it out with a powerful slice, knocking Star away from him. Adam saw that Caliburn was now coated in a crimson flare.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else," Adam said, holding up Caliburn with both hands.

Mina roared as she charged against Adam, forcing him to turn and block her sword.

"You fool, no matter what tricks you have you'll never stop The Darkness or Glossaryck!" Mina claimed as she pushed him with her sword.

Mina swung her blade against Adam, forcing him to roll under the swing. He swung Caliburn against the mad woman, clashing once more. She sliced high while he blocked her attack. He jumped back as Mina charged at him once again. She raised her sword above her head before bringing it down. Adam quickly blocked the attack by holding his sword horizontally.

"You're a fool Mina, you and Star are nothing more than pawns in this damn game," Adam grunted, holding back the blade. "Glossaryck is probably laughing his ass off as we speak."

"Then I'll join him when I laugh over your dead body," Mina growled, before raising her sword once more and bashing it against Caliburn.

Adam held his ground against the attacks of the mad woman. He was forced onto one knee almost as if he had been brought down by a landslide. He could feel the legendary sword was digging into his skin. He looked up as Mina prepared her final strike.

"This is justice!" Mina screamed like a mad woman.

Adam remembered a move that Buffrog showed him back when he trained him. He held up until the strike landed. He side-stepped to the right, letting the force of the attack go all the way down. He then spun in a circle before slicing the side of Mina's body. Mina screamed in pain, holding her bleeding side. She turned around, growling at Adam. Adam looked at Mina, growling with a snarl.

"Stay down," Adam said.

"May Glossaryck see me through to the end!" Mina cried out, charging against Adam once more.

Adam jumped back as she slashed at him. The slice managed to knick the crystal that had Hekapoo inside, causing it to break just a little bit.

"Die scum!" Mina bellowed, slashing at Adam.

"Pawn!" Adam roared back, dodging the attacks and blocking with Caliburn.

As Adam and Mina clashed their blades against one another, Star reached to the Gospel of Glossaryck.

"Damn, that guy," Star mumbled. "How dare he attack me of all people," She said, trying to grab the cursed book as it burned with the arrow.

She tried to grab hold of the book but the flames were too strong for her to grab it.

"Starfish Water Blast!" Star said, firing a blast of water in the shape of a star.

The water struck the burning book, but the flames weren't extinguished.

Star grew frustrated. She tightened her fists and reached for the book, but she only burnt herself some more. Star recoiled in pain as the flames crawled up her arms. The flames that spawned from the book and the arrow of St. Tom went up her face, scaring her with burn marks.

"ARGH!" Star screamed, holding the right side of her face.

The right side of her face was now charred black, her heart mark now resembled a broken heart and her eye was now black with the iris glowing red. Her now black and red eye watched everything with a ghostly glare of pure hatred. She fixed her sights on Adam as he battled off Mina.

"You did this! You couldn't just lay down and get out of my way," Star growled as she glared at Adam.

Just before Star could do anything, the platform shook violently. She fell from the side, holding on to the edge of the platform.

Adam lost his balance and fell on his butt. He looked down and saw the tentacles of the Darkness crawling upwards. Just as Adam was about to get up, Mina ran up to him and kicked him in the stomach, sending him back. Adam rolled, losing the grip on his sword and landing next to the burning cursed book. He reached for Caliburn, but Mina stepped on the blade pinning it to the ground.

"Now, die on the ground like you deserve!" Mina cried out, holding up her sword for a final strike.

Adam felt the fire behind him. He glanced back and saw the arrow within his reach. As Mina smiled like a mad woman, he grabbed hold of the arrow. He lifted it along with the burning remains of the Gospel of Glossaryck. He jabbed the arrow and the book deep into Mina's heart. As soon as the arrow dug into Mina's black she bursted into flames, screaming in pain. Adam stepped back as Mina turned into a screaming pile of ash along with the gospel.

"Go to Hell," Adam said before picking up Caliburn.

The ground shook under Adam's feet as he saw the tentacles of the Darkness rising along with it. He looked at the beast, holding Caliburn ready to fight.

Star was snatched by one of the tentacles, pulling her high.

The Darkness roared a vengeful roar that shook the ground and the rest of the realm.

"Adam, you need to free me now!" Hekapoo said, getting his attention.

Adam pulled the crystal off of his necklace to look at Hekapoo.

"How?" Adam asked, looking at the crystal.

"We're in the realm where my stupid brother was born, just smash it and I'll do the rest," Hekapoo explained.

Adam held the crystal in his left hand before smashing it against the ground. The crystal shattered against the ground. A burning warmth enveloped Adam's hand, forcing him to pull back his hand. The flame grew tall until Hekapoo was standing before him.

"AW, YEAH! I'm free at last," Hekapoo said. "Here's Hekapoo baby!"

"Good to have you back Hekapoo, but now how do we take care of this thing?" Adam asked, holding Caliburn ready to fight.

"I did promise you that if you survived you'd see me in my full glory," Hekapoo said as her hands reached for the flame in her crown. "Hey, old man, take a good hard look at this flame! This is the embodiment of the wrath the gods left on earth to ward against you and your pet! I've carried this for centuries as penance for my crimes as your daughter! Now you take!" She explained.

The flame in Hekapoo's hands began to grow and grow and grow until it became an inferno. Adam stepped back as the fire was becoming to much for him.

"Now, back to oblivion where you belong!" Hekapoo cried out as the inferno struck the Darkness.

The flames illuminated the realm, striking at the Darkness. They pushed the great beast back down to the depths from whence it came. Taking Star along with it.

"I curse you, Lakestone!" Star cried out as the flames took her down.

The flames spread through the realm burning everything.

"Now, we get out of here!" Hekapoo said.

"No need to tell me twice," Adam replied as he pulled Hekapoo away from the flames.

The two ran as fast as their legs could take them. The flames that consumed the realm were bitting at their heels. They spotted the portal and rushed towards it.

"Jump out!" Hekapoo said before they both jumped through the portal as the flames caught up to them.

* * *

Adam and Hekapoo jumped through the portal, landing at the feet of Jackie, Eclipsa and Meteora.

"Adam! You're alright-" Jackie said before Adam tackled her to the ground.

"Get down all of you!" Adam screamed, causing the others to drop to the ground.

Flames bursted out of the portal and flowed out through the catacombs beneath the city. But the flames didn't stop there. They continued spreading and rising. The ground began to shake causing bits and pieces of the ceiling to fall down.

"We need to get out of here!" Meteora said.

"Right behind you," Adam said as they all ran out of the catacombs.

* * *

The flames broke through the ground through the sewers of Echo Creek.

Back in the awaiting battlefield, the armies felt the ground violently shake under their feet.

"What is going on?!" Moon called out, looking out from her camp.

Just then a massive wall of fire cut the field in two, separating the two armies from one another.

The soldiers used this chance to run back to the city to help as many as they could.

Amongst the trees near the lake, Janna, Kelly, Duncan, Mariposa and the rest of their families watched in horror at what was happening.

_"To save the city and those that you love, you'll have to cut out the dark heart of the city,"_

* * *

The fires burnt for a whole day, which allowed Adam and his group to regroup with Janna and Kelly. They stuck to the shadows and when the families weren't looking, they left them.

Once Janna and Kelly were far enough, they regrouped with Adam and the rest of the group.

"So glad you guys are alright!" Janna said, hugging Adam and Jackie.

"Don't worry, we're ok," Adam said.

"Yeah, we need to breath a little, girl," Jackie said, patting the witch on her back.

"Don't count victory just yet," Hekapoo said, getting everyone's attention. "We need to make one last stop."

Adam nodded in understanding.

* * *

At the Fablefolk camp, Moon and her war council were wondering what had happened.

"We've yet to understand what happened earlier today, but it appears that it wasn't a trap," Moon said.

"I say we attack now and get our daughter back," River said, banging his fist against the table.

Moon sighed at her husband's actions.

"You always were one to go for the neck, River," a voice called out.

Moon turned to the source of the voice and spotted Eclipsa, Meteora and Hekapoo standing at the entrance.

"Eclipsa, you've returned," Moon said, hugging her cousin.

"And I'm not alone," Eclipsa said, gesturing behind her.

Adam, Jackie, Janna and Kelly stepped forward.

"Who are they, and what are they doing here?" Moon asked.

Adam pulled out Caliburn, and held it up. Everyone in the war council took a step back. All save for Moon and River knelt down at the sight of the sword.

"Eclipsa, what's happening?" Moon asked.

Eclipsa looked at Adam, who stepped forward.

"Queen Butterfly, we need to tell you something," Adam said.

* * *

**Six months later...**

The city of Echo Creek was slowly being repaired. After the Fablefolk army left as soon as it arrived, the citizens were able to focus on fixing their city. Everyone took this as a sign from a higher power that the war was not to take place.

Duncan was helping his father forge tools and pieces to put the city together.

"We're all done with the pieces that the next building will need," Duncan said. "I'll take them to Mariposa and other the knights so they can use them."

"Take care, Duncan," His father said. "I just wish your brother was here to see how much you've grown," He said with a sad look in his face.

"I know dad, I know," Duncan replied as he loaded the tools and nails into the wagon. "But I think he's looking out for us in his own way."

Far from Echo Creek, Adam gazed upon the city he called home from the top of the royal tree.

"They are waiting for us," Jackie called Adam.

"Is everyone there?" Adam asked, looking back at her.

"Yes, you're the last one," Jackie said as she wrapped her arm around his own.

"Ready for another adventure?" Adam asked.

"Lead the way," Jackie said as they walked to the royal court where everyone else was waiting for them.


End file.
